Welcome

There’s no doubt that today’s parents are increasingly concerned about their children and teenagers, and want to help them negotiate our very complex 21st-century world.

As a parenting educator, I speak to hundreds of parent groups across the country year in and year out, and parents tell me what worries them most: sex, drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse, AIDS, and the Internet—all fears that the 24/7 news world we live in heightens every day.

But there is good news! Today’s parents are more involved with their children’s lives than perhaps any generation of parents in history, and their children and teens like and respect them. This closeness is paying off: in almost every area, today’s tweens and teenagers act more responsibly than teens fifteen or twenty years ago.

Throughout this site and in my new book What Every 21st-Century Parent Needs to Know you will find practical advice, research, and insights to give you a more realistic window into the lives of tweens and teens today. Excerpts from my books offer useful tools and information on what is really happening in our children’s lives. A list of my ongoing appearances and talks can also be found here, as well as information on how to book me to talk to your school or organization about the issues all parents face today.

I truly believe that good parenting makes a difference, and I hope that this site and my books will reassure you and arm you with facts and advice to help you through the challenging, exhilarating, and joyful years of parenthood. Trust yourself to make the right choices to raise your child to become a happy and successful adult.

Debra W. Haffner