Wise parents know that fighting a teenager, like fighting a riptide, is inviting doom.

Whenever I hear about a child needing something, I ask myself, 'Is it what he needs or what he wants?' It isn't always easy to distinguish between the two. A child has many real needs which can and should be satisfied. His wants are a bottomless pit. He wants, for example, to sleep with his parents. He needs to be in his own bed. At Christmas he wants every toy advertised on television. He needs only one or two.

Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.

The search for a personal identity is the life task of a teenager.

Adolescence can be a time of turmoil and turbulence, of stress and storm. Rebellion against authority and against convention is to be expected and tolerated for the sake of learning and growth.

Many teenagers are tormented by terrors they deem private and personal. They do not know that their anxieties and doubts are universal.

Each of us carries within himself a collection of instant insults.