Root & Reach: Parenting Teens Newsletter, April 16th
Because joining a village during the teen years is vital self-care, and yes, parenting teens can be fun.
Hi there,
How are you doing this week? No, really. How are you?
Parenting teens can feel like you’re simultaneously trying to coach a soccer team, translate a foreign language, and defuse a bomb—with zero sleep and a full inbox. It’s intense, unpredictable, and sometimes wildly beautiful. And whether you’re coasting or crawling this week, I want you to know: you’re not alone, and you’re doing sacred work.
New Article: 10 Life Skills Your Teen Should Know Before They Leave Home
Raise your hand if you’ve ever worried your teen might head off into the world with no idea how to schedule a doctor’s appointment or scramble an egg. 🙋♀️
This week’s article is a practical, encouraging guide to the 10 essential life skills teens should develop before they leave home. From emotional intelligence to real-world logistics, it’s a checklist that’ll help you focus on what matters most—and let go of the rest.
Some of these skills you’re probably already teaching (without even realizing it).
👉 Click here to read 10 Life Skills Your Teen Should Know Before They Leave Home
New Podcast Episode: Flip Your Lid – Understanding Your Triggers and The Teen Brain
Episode 6 of the Root & Reach Podcast is live, and this one’s for every parent who’s ever found themselves mid-lecture, mid-yell, or mid-eye twitch and thought: What is even happening right now?
In Flip Your Lid, I break down the science behind our stress responses using the hand-brain model—a simple visual that explains why we lose access to logic when we're triggered, and how the same thing is happening in our teens.
You’ll learn:
What’s going on in your brain (and your teen’s) when emotions take over
How the prefrontal cortex and amygdala clash under pressure
Ways to re-regulate and model emotional resilience—even after the meltdown
🎧 Listen to Episode 6 here and share it with a friend who needs a deep breath and a brain reset.
Parenting Tip Preview: Empower, Don’t Enable
Let’s be real—sometimes it’s just easier to do it for them. Whether it’s cleaning up the backpack explosion or reminding them (again) about their dentist appointment, we step in because we care. But sometimes, that help quietly turns into enabling.
This week’s parenting tip is all about how to support your teen without sidelining their growth.
Hint: It’s not about saying no—it’s about saying, “I believe you can handle this.”
Want to learn how to strike that balance and encourage real responsibility without constant conflict?
👉 Subscribe here for full access to this week’s tip and all my weekly parenting tools.
Let’s raise teens who know how to rise.
Parent Compass: This Week’s Web Finds
Every week, I handpick a few resources that I think will make your life a little easier or more inspiring. No fluff. No spam. Just real stuff that supports the real work you’re doing.
Scroll down for this week’s finds, and hit reply if there’s something you think I should include next time—I love hearing what’s helping you.
Until next week, may you find a moment to laugh, a moment to connect, and a moment to remember: you’re doing better than you think.
Warmly,
Ashley
Parenting Tip: Empower, Don’t Enable
Parenting Tip Preview: Empower, Don’t Enable
Why does your teen freeze up when things get tough—or worse, beat themselves up with negative self-talk? The way you respond in those moments can either reinforce the shame… or shift the script.
This week, I’m sharing how to offer empowering statements that actually build resilience, without toxic positivity or rescuing. These statements help your teen feel capable, not crushed.
Want to learn a few go-to phrases that help teens stay regulated and self-aware—even in the hard moments?
When your words remind them they’re not broken, they’ll start to believe it too.
👉 Subscribe here for full access to this week’s tip and all my weekly parenting tools.
Let’s raise teens who know they can handle hard things—even when it’s messy.
🌱 Want More Parenting Tips Like This?
If you’re finding these tips helpful, I’d love to invite you to subscribe to my full Parenting Tips series. Each week, I send out practical, bite-sized insights to help you feel more confident and connected as you guide your teen through this wild and wonderful stage of life.
You'll get:
Full access to weekly parenting tips
Curated resources and tools
Occasional free downloads and special offers
👉 Click here to subscribe and stay in the loop.
🔍 The Parent Compass: My Web Finds This Week
Each week, I’m on the lookout for insightful, inspiring, and genuinely helpful resources to support you on your parenting journey. From expert articles and thought-provoking podcasts to must-read books, teen-friendly tools, and little gems I stumble upon, I’ll be sharing my best finds straight to your inbox. Consider this your shortcut to the good stuff—no endless scrolling required!
Keep an eye out for something new each week, and if you love it, feel free to share it with a fellow parent who could use a little extra support (or a good laugh). 💛
🌍 Early Adolescence as an Important Window of Opportunity for Positive Development
This month, UCLA talked to a leading expert in early adolescent development, Dr. Ron Dahl, about what exactly early adolescence is and why it is so crucial to support young people as they go through this period of growth.
📱Webinar: Climate Change and Action During Adolescence
Join our co-executive director Andrew Fuligni, climate mental health expert Larissa Dooley, researcher Sander Thomaes, and YSCA member Merlot Ghadoushi on Tuesday, April 22 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time for an earth day webinar discussing how climate change impacts adolescent development, mental health, and wellbeing. Panelists will also discuss ways in which programs and policies can build resilience and promote positive development in young people by providing opportunities to get involved in climate action.
🎧 How to Evaluate a Crisis
There are crises that demand action: evacuating during a natural disaster, fleeing from dangerous people, or outrunning a tiger that escaped from the zoo. (Hey! It happens.) There are crises that produce deep feelings: A death of a loved one or the loss of a relationship. Your stress response system is there to get you through these troubling times. But using your stress response system to deal with everyday problems is like using a sledge hammer to drive in a single nail. Teach teens to deal with everyday stuff—arguments with friends or grades—with calm problem solving and empathy.
Thank you for being part of this community—I appreciate you and all the work you’re doing to show up for your teen.
-Ashley