ZEYNEP OKUR GUNER, PhD

Bullying is a serious and persistent issue affecting children, tweens, and teenagers. Its impact can be profound, influencing young people’s emotional wellbeing, mental health, and development. Experiences of bullying are linked to anxiety, depression, lower academic achievement, and, in the most severe cases, self-harm or suicidal thoughts. What exactly is bullying? How can we tell the difference between bullying and everyday banter or conflict between friends? Teenagers do

As a parent, I feel rather proud of myself, thinking I do a good job monitoring our daughter’s comings and goings - and her digital footprint. Well… apparently, not so much anymore! This week I celebrated my birthday. On Sunday morning, our daughter asked to stay home instead of joining us for our weekly farmer’s market visit, a family ritual that we enjoy doing together. She said she wanted to stay home, read a book and relax. We said yes, although I was slightly disappointe

“Adolescence is the training ground for adulthood” states Dr Madeline Levine. Throughout adolescence, our teenagers have three main endeavors: -To develop an adult body -To develop an adult brain -To develop an adult sense of self and identity. Whilst our teenagers will be busy of doing all of these at the same time, our job as parents is to support them. However, developing an adult sense of self and identity involves a process called separation and individuation . Teenagers