Put yourself first

Hey, friends. The other day, we asked our crew on Instagram to describe what it’s like parenting teens in one emoji. The most common responses? 🥴😍😫

If that’s not an accurate representation of raising kids, we don’t know what is. Stay strong, more 🥰 days are ahead!

Young Adult…Children?

Your child doesn’t stop being your child when they turn 18. How many times have you called your mom because you didn’t know what to do with your own child? Right?

Well, now we have scientific proof that “parent” is a lifelong job title:

• 73% of parents text with their adult children multiple times a week, according to Pew.

• 53% report having multiple weekly phone calls.

• 69% of young adults are happy with the amount of involvement their parents have in their lives.

We take this to mean two big things:

1. You don’t need to worry that the clock is running out on your parent years, because it isn’t.

2. The ways we approach our relationships with our kids when they’re teens will lay the foundation for a strong relationship when they’ve flown the coop…which we all want.

Teens and Substance Abuse

Get this: Approximately 1 in 10 high school students surveyed here in Canada developed a substance abuse issue before graduation. That’s really scary. One in 10. 🤯

So what can we do to help ensure our kids (and their sweet friends) are equipped with the emotional and logical skills to swerve substance abuse? We can reinvent those stale anti-drug programs.

Enter: Montreal psychologist Patricia Conrod, who developed the PreVenture Program. It’s a workshop-based program that focuses on setting goals and giving teens tools to manage and understand their emotions. PreVenture has been implemented in five provinces across Canada and in 12 states in the US…and it’s working. Experts say PreVenture is more effective than traditional anti-drug programs and can reduce the risk of teen addiction by up to 80%.

We’d call that a win.

Parenting in 2025 is Particularly Stressful

Not that you needed us to remind you, but it’s true: 72% of mental health professionals have seen an increase in their clients wanting to talk about the stress of parenting and the emotional toll it takes on them.

We get it—parents these days are constantly overwhelmed by big, scary problems. We’re always comparing ourselves to other parents we see online. We’re doing our best to break cycles and build better futures. And, man, is it a lot.

But if there’s one thing you leave today’s newsletter with, let it be this: Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish. You can only show up for your family when you’ve found a way to fill your cup.

So here are some ideas to do just that:

• Instead of making a list of chores, spend the time you sit waiting in the pickup line listening to a funny or raunchy podcast. If you’re in the mood for some Cat & Nat classics, we recommend this one, this one, and this one.

• Prioritize your own mental health. Finally book that therapist consultation, actually use the journal you bought last year, take a walk without headphones. Do something that makes you feel like the priority.

• Let your partner and/or teen kids figure dinner out on their own, and take yourself on a date solo. Have a drink, read a book, scroll guilt-free…just do you.

Sometimes we get so bogged down in the scary realities our kids are facing that we forget how resilient and open-hearted they can really be. And when we let them offer a helping hand, they can make a huge difference. Today, some recs to set your kids on a compassionate path.

• We love this: A teen in Vancouver went all in on volunteering after being inspired by a younger kid! No age limit on giving back ❣️

• Encourage your kids to find volunteer opportunities in your area…and make it a family affair!

• Remember that there’s more to giving back than soup kitchens and blood drives—here are 24 awesome ideas.