From about second grade through high school, being popular becomes important to many children, but friendship is the thing that endures. While not being in the 'in crowd' might seem devastating, encourage your child to simply make good friends.

I feel bad for Irwin and Cindy.

Lawrence Cohen

Kids actually experience more conflicts with close friends than with acquaintances. At first that might seem weird, but if you think about it, you can get over what an acquaintance says, but what a friend says and does really matters. And because you are friends, you are motivated to work it through.

Lawrence Cohen

As kids approach puberty, parents should talk about sex and set up the right kinds of guidelines for social interaction.

Lawrence Cohen