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First Visit Home

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November 15, 2016 Julia has returned home from college for Thanksgiving Break.  She seems happy but appears to be a bit exhausted from the workload associated with college level classes.  While Julia excelled in high school, she seems to be struggling a bit as she tries to balance a social life and the high demands of academic life in college.  Due to some restrictions in her high school curriculum as a result of some standardized testing, Julia has fallen behind in her math classes.  I have encouraged Julia to make use of her professors office hours and the math lab at school to make up for the curriculum gap that has appeared between high school and college.  Julia is open to my suggestions and tells me she will see help as she finishes out this semester. I believe overall Julia is adjusting to college life.  She is showing some signs of the first year adjustment reaction which can include symptoms such as anxiety and depression.  It appears this...
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Off to College

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August 5, 2016 Julia graduated high school this past June and based on her academic achievements she is off to a four year university out of state.  She received a scholarship and she has been assigned on campus housing.  We have spent much of the summer shopping for items for her dorm and she has been working a part time job to earn some spending money for college.  Julia didn't really enjoy her part time job working at the grocery store.  She did not find the work challenging enough for her.  The frustrations with her part time job lead us into a conversation reinforcing her decision to attend college.  I told Julia that a lack of higher education usually leads to people spending many year working in low paying and basic skill jobs.  She agreed and is enthusiastic about attending college out of state. Having deeper discussions about career choices and college has allowed me to see that Julia has entered into a stage as defined by Piaget as formal...
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Social Chair

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October 5, 2015 Julia seems to be enjoying high school life and has developed a large social circle.  She is involved with volunteer work, social clubs and sports.  I believe Julia is turning out to be a well rounded individual and will be well prepared for college after high school.  She received her test results back from the ACT and SAT scoring in the top 10% on both test.  Her father and I are very proud of her accomplishments and give her a bit more freedom to make decisions.  We see her friendships evolving and have noticed a slight shift in her needing her parents less and leaning on her friends more for support.  Julia enjoyed taking a Psychology class during senior year and made a few comments that she is always acting like a therapist to one of her friends.  Julia and her clique of friends decided to participate in the senior variety show and are having some fun coming up with comical ideas.  I am happy to see Julia fitting in with a c...
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Caution: student driver

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August 15, 2014 As a parent I have been dreading this time since Julia was very young.  Julia just passed her drivers test and is on the road as a new driver.  She has used some money from savings and her father and I have chipped in to cover the rest of the expense for a used car.  I feel a bit more at ease given Julia seems to be a conscientious driver.  I am also relieved because now she can drive her sister Madeline to school and get herself to and from extra curricular activities. One funny thing that has happened recently is Julia received her first bad haircut.  She was mortified and went out shopping for hats immediately after the haircut.  I try not to laugh and be supportive of Julia because we know adolescence is a time girls tend to have lower levels of self esteem.  Her embarrassment surrounding the haircut seemed to be a bit over the top and remained her main focus for a few weeks.  As a parent, I chalked most of the dramatics up...
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High School

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September 4, 2012 Julia hit a growth spurt last year and now at age 14 she is almost 5'7".  Julia is taller then most boys in her grade.  Over the summer her birthday party included both boys and girls.  I have been expecting Julia to show some interest in boys as this is typically the age where boys and girls enjoy the company of one another.  Julia has even been on some outings lately involving small groups of boys and girls.  I know there is a winter formal at school this year and Julia has already asked me to help her find a dress. Julia has developed some anxiety related to the transition from middle school to high school.  I tried to ease her mind by letting her know that high school experiences were some of my most fond memories and it will likely be the same for her.  I also have a talk with Julia about peer pressure and the use of illegal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.  We know teens are often influenced by peer groups and role models...
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What are we gonna do with a teenager

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May 1, 2010 Julia is turning into a young lady right before our eyes.  Very soon she will be a teenager facing the challenges of adolescence.  At this age she has a good group of friends, excels at school and is generally well behaved at home.  She has also developed more interest in sport activities this year.  I am hopeful she will follow in my footsteps playing some team sports in middle school which will help build her self confidence and expand her social circle. At home we play games such as 3-D video tennis on the virtual game player.  This is a good way for the whole family to participate in some physical activity together. We will spend the summer prepping for middle school.  At this age, Julia is showing a bit more concern for how she looks and what she wears then she has in elementary school.  We are so proud of Julia because she is in the gifted and talented program.  She seems to be engaged and challenged with her school material....
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Growing up so fast

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August 15, 2006 Julia turned 8 over the summer and her little sister Madeline turned 5 in the spring.  Madeline will be off to school in the fall and we will have both kids in school full time.  It will be nice to have both girls on the same school schedule and routine.  This will make the family schedule more well balanced and we can plan fun times and family dinners more consistently. Julia continues to do well in elementary school and remains curious about the world in general.  My nephew (Julia's cousin) returned from a tour of duty in Asia and came over for a visit last week.  Julia was very interested in looking at a map of this region of the world and learning as much about it as possible.  At this point Julia is showing developmental signs leading us to believe she is having some concrete operational thought.  She is using logic more and more as she approaches intellectual problems.  She is learning there is a vast world out there and ...
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