Parents Lying to Children: Necessary or Hypocritical?

Lying to our Children: The Elephant in the Room Meets The Hypocrite in the Mirror
By: Dr. Robyn Silverman
Lying.
In the wake of honesty month, for Powerful Words, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Parents often lie to their children. It’s OK, right? After all, our parents did it. Most parents still do.
You eat a [...]

Body Image and Boys: The Adonis Complex and Steroid Abuse among Teens

Steroid Use in Boys…furthering the discussion.
Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman

Powerful Parents are certainly a passionate bunch. I guess my article on steroid abuse among teens stirred up some good discussion yesterday in light of the cultural response to body image problems among our youth. Perhaps you were surprised that boys were affected just as girls [...]

Scary Things Teens Do that Parents Don’t Know About: Steroids

Steroid Use in Preteens and Teens
Perhaps you’ve noticed a few of them walking in the halls of your children’s schools. Or perhaps you’ve noticed something strange among your own teens. Are their chiseled bodies really of this world? With their six pack abs, bulging biceps and firm quads, these teens make others wonder if they’re [...]

20 Ways to Start Conversations with Teens and Tweens

Hello Families!
Hope you’ve had a terrific end to your week and your having a wonderful weekend! For the last few days, I’ve been presenting at the United States Gymnastics Congress and Olympic Trials in Philadelphia, with scores of athletes, coaches, gymnastics school owners, judges, and children everywhere I turn! As you can imagine, the energy [...]

7 Tips to Help Children Learn Good Money Habits: Interview with Money Man, Sam Renick

How can our children and teens get honest about their money habits?
Dr. Robyn interviews Mr. Sam Renick about teaching children financial literacy
Thank you for joining us here at the Powerful Parent Blog, Mr. Renick. I know you’ve spent a great deal of time working with children on creating a “habit” of earning and spending money [...]

Miss Minnesota Contestant Raises Financial Awareness: The Queen of a Thousand Smackers

Cash. Coin. Coconuts. No matter what you call it, people are talking about it. Or are they?
My husband, Jason, and I often discuss the strange fact that we don’t learn about managing money in school. And yet, it’s vital to existing responsibly and independently even before we graduate into the “real world.”

The Facts:

The [...]

Just say no…later…to Drugs: Have Teens Gone Mad or Are Adults Sending Mixed Messages?

Friday Musings: An Opinion Piece by Dr. Robyn Silverman
Hold onto your tempers and excuse my temporary sarcasm. The last few weeks offer a bumpy, pot-hole infested ride.
Recently, it seems that free speech has been taken to the limit but at the same time, convoluted messages are being sent and practiced all over the US. My [...]

Eating Disorders Revealed: Interview with High Schoolers Who Used Their Challenges to Inspire Others

All teens deal with struggles in their lives. It takes a powerful teen to admit she has a problem, work through her challenges, and use what she’s learned to help others. This article is the result of an interview with Alex Shabo, a teen who is recovering from an eating disorder and helping others [...]

Interview about Miley Cyrus: Dr Robyn Silverman on the Dr. Drew Pinsky Radio Show

I had the pleasure of being on Dr. Drew Pinsky’s radio show the other day (April 29th) to talk about the Miley Cyrus issue and the impact on parents and tweens. For your convenience, I took out all the commercials and just left the actual discussion between Dr. Drew and me. I believe [...]

Do Parents Really Matter? Mopping Up the Last of the Miley Mess

Dr. Robyn Answers Parents’ Questions from the last 2 days: Given everything that’s been going on with the Miley Cyrus Debacle this week, parents are wondering if they can ever catch a break. The press is everywhere, everyone’s talking about it, and parents (and grandparents) are wondering if any celebrity can be trusted with [...]