The Boston brothers, the Dirty Dozen, Kmart's cheeky ad campaign and some solid advice for parents and children -- all caught my attention this week.

In November 2011, when Rehtaeh Parsons was 15, she went with a friend to a party. Her mother said she was raped by four boys. I've seen a common refrain expressed online: "What are we teaching our kids?" It's a good question to ask when four young men allegedly felt that they had the right to do whatever they liked to a girl

I turn to my daughter. She is 14, and busy perfecting the act of looking at once both pensive and haughty. Finally she admits something. "I'm thinking about the bus. You said you wanted to teach me to ride the public bus. That I need to be more independent." I did say that...

Reassurance. Sympathy. Someone to "talk" to, as often as you wish and at all hours of day and night. All potential benefits of Twitter that may offer psychological comfort, but is the tradeoff of creating a public record of struggle and potential for damaging feedback worth it?

My husband and I continue to debate one issue (well, besides every issue because obviously opposites attract). I'm not talking about Tomato Tomahto. I'm talking about how much to disclose. To our teenagers. About my wild child former self.

I was lost. A mother of six with four hormonal teenagers -- that in itself, even spouting out the words is enough to drive anyone to a liquored-stupor. But I am not here to tell you what you already know or what you fear, I want to share my survival skills, how I managed to keep myself together, or appear to and hope that some good comes out of my experience.

I don't want my kids to think that violence, entitlement and disrespect are a regular part of sports. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they are a part of the experience and will help prepare them for what's ahead. But is that really what little league baseball is all about?

Porn is out there, it's accessible, and it's here to stay. Sex and porn are so inextricably linked that it's as impossible to imagine the world without the one as it is without the other. The problem with most porn is that it reflects a weird world of hairlessness, bleaching athleticism and diminutive speech. It's not real, and this can lead to some serious social problems for teens.

The truth is we are all superheroes waiting to discover the special gift we were given to make our mark in the world. For some reason, what we start off with is often the exact opposite of our superpower. These opposites are our own form of Kryptonite. We have to rise above our Kryptonite.

Well, there is the unpleasant memory of the last time you went out into the "real world" and it didn't "work". If "work" was the bag you had used to pick up crud, your experience would be the stuff that's stays on the ground where the crud was. (Not a good place unless you are a crud-worm).

So, you've asked your teen for the 400th time to do whatever. (It's not like he/she's actually heard what you said -- your voice blends in with the...

It's eleven o'clock, do you know what your children are lying about? Well, prying parents can now find out using Twitter and the hashtag, #LiesIvetold...

The thing is, most of the time teens are fine with not being listened to by their parents. But here's the problem: What happens when you really need them to? You see, all your training in getting them to ignore you isn't going to come in handy. You're, like, the kid who yelled woof! Or barked, or something.

A couple of weeks ago, my son phoned home. Surprisingly enough, he's actually very good about calling home on a regular basis. Anyway, this time he let a bomb drop. "Hey guys, did you know that your daughter has a boyfriend?" Dead silence. Ah no... no clue. And how did he know?

It often seems that being a teen is about hearing all things you cannot do, should not do or would not do. This can feel entirely frustrating, but w...

What can parents do in the December holidays to stop the trends that their teens and young adults seem to wallow in and offer these children a chance to turn their lives around in the new year?

For many, the holidays mean family gatherings and talking to people of all ages. If you're usually the parent trying to decode words like "noob," "pwn...

As a mom who has brought up a few toddlers through to their inevitable teenage stage, I know that there can be some great things about having these older kids in the house. So here are the great qualities today's teenagers have, supported by words from their own brace-laden mouths.

Puberty can be a challenging and complicated experience for any kid. But what if your child's physical and emotional maturation is happening ahead of ...