I was reminded today of teen drinking. In my community, an annual banquet is being held this week to support a local foundation. This foundation was created several years ago by family members of a teen boy who died from an alcohol-related car accident.

Being a better parent sounds like a massive undertaking, doesn’t it? In order to change things you need to take a class, or read a handful of books, or just spend a lot of time figuring it out. I say you can do this without nearly so much hassle.

Wow, last week was a tough one to be a celebrity sports figure with a compelling backstory. Lance Armstrong, widely known for his Tour de France wins and Livestrong Foundation, just admitted to cheating and making accusations against innocent people.

Just about every day you hear how we need to ” do something” about gun violence, especially how it relates to the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy. Ideas have included armed guards at school, tighter gun control laws, some involvement with mental illness (more screenings, possibly a registry, etc.), restrictions on ammunition, and more.

Flexibility goes hand-in-hand with parenting. You need to bend so you don’t break. I am “the flexible parent”, meaning that I am the main troubleshooter and schedule wrangler for our family.

One of the more frequently read posts on the family mental health blog is PMDD Hard to Endure Harder to Explain. I know many of you who have experienced any form of depression can find it difficult to describe what it’s like inside your mind.