Teen Girls Still Prefer Beauty over Smarts

teen tween survey poll smart or beautiful wishbone mobile smartphone app

I’ve been playing around with the slick mobile voting application Wishbone on my iPhone ever since my 11yo turned me on to it. It’s incredibly simple: users are presented with A/B choices and tap to vote on which they prefer. Every 7-8 votes, you’re forced to watch a banal streaming video advertisement, almost always a mobile app aimed at teen girls and related to fashion, hairstyles or virtual high school experiences. Still, advertising aside, it’s…Read More

Upgrading my shoes with Rockport on #MyDailyAdventure

October 5, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Being a Dad, Raising Teens / No Comments

upgrade casual dress shoes men women rockport deck shoes chelsea boot chukka

For a guy who tends to wear sneakers or boat shoes most of the year, it’s a bit of a puzzle how I became a part of the Rockport Inner Circle, but it has given me a splendid opportunity to upgrade my footwear and thereby my image a bit. It’s the curse of the solopreneur: when you don’t have an office and don’t have a boss, you tend to forget that “the clothes make the man”…Read More

Legalization Doesn’t Make Marijuana a Good Idea for Teens

September 28, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens, Single Parenting Life / 2 Comments

dangers underage marijuana use consumption colorado children teens

In fact, the laws voted in that changed the legal status of retail marijuana in the state of Colorado don’t apply to those under 21 anyway, but let’s be candid: legalization has made weed considerably easier to acquire. Problem is, it turns out that while there are good and bad effects to marijuana usage in adults, the scales are considerably further tipped to the “bad’ side when you’re under 21 and in particular when you’re…Read More

Finding Happiness in the Sea of Life

July 13, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens, Real Parenting / 1 Comment

I met a friend a few days ago for lunch and we had a nice catch-up, enjoying the beautiful rooftop of one of the local eateries here in Boulder. Each of us faces challenges with our teens, each of us talked about what we hoped our children would do and how we hoped they’d travel through the complex world of adolescence and young adulthood. As with every parent, we each also shared the reality of…Read More

Life Skills: Teach my daughter about paying the bills

May 9, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens / 1 Comment

My 18yo is poised to move out. She’s not quite done with school, but she’s ready to go and she’s definitely at a moment in her life where she’s looking out the front windshield, even while occasionally glancing at the rear view mirror and remembering earlier years and childhood. Thing of it is, as with almost all children, she really has no idea about the most basic elements of running a house, whether it’s a…Read More

Parenting Tip: Use Their Communications Channels

March 18, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens / No Comments

Sometimes it’s tricky to know how to proceed as a parent in these modern times, and at other times it’s pretty darn obvious what the next step should be. But whether they’re six or sixteen, it’s hard to know how best to communicate with them when the going gets tough. Sure you can just insist on a face-to-face sit-down discussion, but not only do most guys hate to do that but most kids hate to…Read More

Old Enough to Avoid An Abusive Relationship…

February 22, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens / 1 Comment

avoiding abusive relationships helping teens girls stats statistics

A few days ago I had what I felt was a really important conversation with my 18yo daughter about relationships and expectations. It’s a topic I feel strongly about and particularly so as a father of girls: abusive relationships. Abuse can be subtle, psychological bullying or a simple lack of kindness, but it can also take on a more physical form that’s far more egregious. Both stink, and everyone deserves a loving, nurturing, caring relationship…Read More

Teens, Time Management and the Art of Bedmaking

February 17, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens / No Comments

time management, teens, and the unmade bed

I’m a very self-driven sort of guy, able to juggle a lot of things simultaneously. Heck, on any given day I might be tackling a dozen different projects, taking care of my children, driving to school appointments, and squeezing in time to hit the gym too. It’s an essential skill for any entrepreneur and probably for any human being if they have more in their life than a single task or person to focus upon….Read More

My talk with a room full of teachers about cyber-bullying and online privacy

January 24, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens, School, Tech, Gadgets and Children / No Comments

talk with teachers about technology, privacy, safety and cyberbullying

Sounds a bit like the beginning of a joke: A guy walks into a room full of teachers to talk about the Internet, privacy and cyber-bullying… but it’s the furthest thing from a joke I can think of, actually. A few days ago I was invited by my children’s school to address the faculty on these very topics and as it’s something I’m very concerned about, I was happy to participate in the discussion. What…Read More

My teen’s cellphones go to sleep at device bedtime…

January 21, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens, Tech, Gadgets and Children / 2 Comments

late night iphone clock - parenting - smart cellphone usage nighttime limits

From the very beginning, I have had a rule with my children that when they go to bed, their devices go to bed too. In my house we call it Device Bedtime, and even their friends know to expect it when they stay over. The logic is simple: at a certain time of night, there’s no benefit, nothing positive about remaining on a device, whether it’s staying up insanely late playing Clash of Clans or…Read More

Following in my footsteps…

January 1, 2015 / Dave Taylor / Being a Dad, Raising Teens, Tech, Gadgets and Children / 1 Comment

following in dad's footsteps, another writer in the family, first published review

Like many adults, I am aware that many of the personal and career decisions I made in my life were influenced by my Dad, my choices influenced, overtly or subconsciously by what I felt would gain me approval and respect from my father. That’s one reason I moved into writing and publishing: My Dad was an excellent, funny writer whose primary outlet was a snarky gossip column in a trade magazine — Type World — for…Read More

Teens, Cellphones and School

November 18, 2014 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens, Tech, Gadgets and Children / 2 Comments

teen busted for using smartphone during school

I just got a call from my son’s school: he was caught using his iPhone while in class and it’s been confiscated by the teacher. I now need to go into the school and sign it out, as per their policy. Now, before you think it’s Draconian and a violation of his civil rights to have someone take his cellphone, I should point out that the school is actually rather liberal about phones, allowing students…Read More

Back to College Starts with Walmart’s Best Plans

September 16, 2014 / Dave Taylor / Kids in College, Raising Teens, School / 1 Comment

nokia lumia 521 with the walmart family plan - a perfect addition to a back-to-college gift bag

If you’re a diligent reader of this blog, you’ll be saying “hey, wait a sec! your oldest is in 12th grade, not college! what the deuce are you talking about with back to college?” And you’d be spot on. I’m writing about the cheapest wireless plans, perfect for families — or students! — on a tight budget. The phone of choice: The slick Nokia Lumia 521, available at your local Walmart for a bargain $49.88….Read More

E-Cigarettes are not a safe alternative after all…

August 25, 2014 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens / 2 Comments

I’m not a smoker. In fact, I’ve never smoked a single cigarette, cigar or pipe. Which is perhaps why I tend to notice smokers more when I’m out and about, especially at sporting events and other outdoor venues. Particularly when people are walking down the street with their “vapes”, vaporizers that tend to look like tiny hookahs or pipes that I’m more used to seeing as a way to consume drugs. I’m definitely not a…Read More

Watching the slow motion train wreck…

August 13, 2014 / Dave Taylor / Raising Teens, School / 2 Comments

daughter not studying and finishing her schooling: a slow-motion train wreck

There’s a certain point in parenting when you need to accept that you are no longer steering the rudder or controlling the prop and that the best you can hope for is that you’re still in the front of the ship in the navigator’s seat instead. “You’d do best to turn left here, cap’n, to avoid the reef” is about as good as it gets once your children hit their teens. I’ve always likened parenting…Read More