One of the best parts of summer recess is the sudden absence of adult supervision. It’s less likely someone older is around ensuring that your bedroom door stays open or scolding you to “get to class.” There are places to sneak away to that the colder months don’t allow and no such thing as a school night that forces you to end your evenings early. These new circumstances won’t change things for everyone, but the extra freedom and opportunity might lead to extra fooling around.

I know you have heard: “Boys only want one thing,” and, “They’ll take whatever they can get.”  Especially when dealing with guys who fit these generalizations, it can be tricky to understand how to best handle difficult, high-pressure situations with the opposite sex.

I hope that you can benefit from the methods I have developed to avoid the rotten apples, to gain boys’ respect; to slow them down, and to overall manage uncomfortable situations as smoothly as possible.  Sometimes I wish I had been advised years ago to:

With all of the skimpy bikinis, songs about summer love, and free time, you would think keeping up a romance when school isn’t in session would be a breeze. But dating during the summer months comes with its own challenges. If you’re about to take the relationship you started during the school year into the summer, do yourself a favor and think through how you’ll approach some of the difficulties that are rarely discussed. 

We're talking a lot this month about what makes up a bad or abusive relationship...but as important as it is to recognize a negative relationship, it's also really important to understand what makes up a healthy relationship. We asked members of our teen advisory group to help us define what things make up a healthy relationship and they took it a step further: they made awesome collages featuring images and words that make them think of love, trust, communication, and anything else that's key in a good relationship. Check out their pieces here and tell us what YOU think makes up a healthy relationship! 

We're talking a lot this month about what makes up a bad or abusive relationship...but as important as it is to recognize a negative relationship, it's also really important to understand what makes up a healthy relationship. We asked members of our teen advisory group to help us define what things make up a healthy relationship and they took it a step further: they made awesome collages featuring images and words that make them think of love, trust, communication, and anything else that's key in a good relationship. Check out their pieces here and tell us what YOU think makes up a healthy relationship! 

We're talking a lot this month about what makes up a bad or abusive relationship...but as important as it is to recognize a negative relationship, it's also really important to understand what makes up a healthy relationship. We asked members of our teen advisory group to help us define what things make up a healthy relationship and they took it a step further: they made awesome collages featuring images and words that make them think of love, trust, communication, and anything else that's key in a good relationship. Check out their pieces here and tell us what YOU think makes up a healthy relationship! 

We're talking a lot this month about what makes up a bad or abusive relationship...but as important as it is to recognize a negative relationship, it's also really important to understand what makes up a healthy relationship. We asked members of our teen advisory group to help us define what things make up a healthy relationship and they took it a step further: they made awesome collages featuring images and words that make them think of love, trust, communication, and anything else that's key in a good relationship. Check out their pieces here and tell us what YOU think makes up a healthy relationship! 

Though obviously fun to use, Facebook can also be a major source of stress. We know it’s changed the way we date, so before you accidentally detonate one, here are a few Facebook-related relationship landmines and how to avoid them.

We talk all the day...to our friends, to our teachers, to our boyfriends/girlfriends, to our parents. But are we just talking or are we actually communicating? And, for that matter, how important is good communication when it comes to healthy relationships?  

We’ve all been there…your best friend has a new boyfriend/girlfriend that you aren’t absolutely crazy about. Put frankly, you just really don’t like him/her whatsoever. As a good friend, you try to remain supportive of their relationship. You play that whole, “if my friend is happy, I’m happy” game with yourself. Sooner or later, however, the two of you are talking and the reality of the situation slips out: