On Youth and Teens Today with Vanessa Van Petten

Welcome to a secret view into the world of the net-generation. I love writing to you (maybe a little too much) so enjoy, stick around and be sure to tell me what you think…and, duh, get on my email list quick! (on the right, “subscribe via email”). Or subscribe to my RSS feed. [...]

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The other day, I went to a client’s house and saw that she had Sesame Street bed sheets.  I was a little confused and asked her if her real sheets were being washed.
“No way! I used to love love love Sesame Street so I thought these cookie monster sheets would be adorable.”
I didn’t know they [...]

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Dear Vanessa’s Advice Column,
I want to take my kids on a camping trip because you are often recommending doing different types of activities with your kids. I am a little worried they are going to freak out at being outdoors. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dave, Austin, Texas
Camping is a great idea! I [...]

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As many of my readers know I mentor teens privately in Los Angeles and via web cam and phone all over the world.
I have found that mentoring and coaching has been extremely rewarding for my clients (and for me!) because it offers teens, tweens and kids one on one time with an older (but still [...]

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Vanessa,
I feel a lot of pressure to make my kid do something amazing because otherwise he won’t get into a good college. It is not hard to even get into the private high schools in my area. How can we beef up his resume and application value without freaking him out?
-Marsha, Boston, MA [...]

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