Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.

These are words from Author, Speaker also known as the “Teen Whisperer” Josh Shipp. I became familiar with Josh a few years ago when he was on Oprah. I was then lucky enough to meet him in person because some fabulous teachers in our district brought him in to talk to kids in our schools. I remember seeing him live for the first time. I sat silent and just listened to what he had to say. His message was so simple. Why do we need to be told to do this? I broke briefly from my gaze at him and looked at the students that were also listening. Now stop for a moment and think about this. This was a gym full of 300+ students on an afternoon. No one was talking except Josh. No one was making any disruptions. He had their full attention. Then as I looked closer I saw tears. I saw students hugging and holding hands. I saw kids agreeing with this simple message and wanting that in their lives. Needless to say I broke down as well. Along with just about every other person in the gym.

 You don’t have to have lots of money to make a difference. You don’t need to have lots of extra time to make a difference. You just need to care and listen. Or care enough to listen.

 It is all about relationships.

 Every day we see a kid that may seem in a bad mood, sad mood , or just acting out. What do we do? Do you ignore it and hope someone else that has time will fix the problem? Do you get upset at the kid because their behaviour ruined your day? Just because we were all teens at one time doesn’t mean we know how to interact with teens. And teens don’t always know or want to interact with adults . It can be frustrating dealing with teens, but we cannot give up on them. We need to show them we care day after day after day.

 I am sharing this because Josh is here to help. Please check out his site for  a free guide in dealing with teens. Everything in it may not be useful to your particular situation, but even if one thing helps that will lead to a better a relationship with your teen. I also share this with you because not every teen has an adult at home that does care. I see teachers go above and beyond with their students. I see outside organisations and groups come into our schools and give their time and resources to help student. I see random individuals help in whatever way they can to help students be successful. For those that are already giving THANK YOU. To those that have not yet gave, please consider contacting a school and asking what they need to support their students be successfull. This is the link to Josh Shipp http://joshshipp.com/get-started/ on Facebook. If you just google his name you will find even more resources. The push for me to share this was we just recently had a student pass away in our schools and all I see from certain Politicians is just them complaining where their political party is on a banner in one of our high schools about the political spectrum. How about we care and do more for the mental health of our students and staff !!!!