Perseverance is a virtue I pull out of my parents' bag of tricks when needed. When everything seems to go wrong, especially with a teenager, I find it helpful to remind myself not to panic. It usually could be worse. If I don't over-react, balance is often restored and things work out. This year, our son had 2 problems at school in the same week that made me want to race to his rescue and fix it. We talked at home about his options and he successfully handled both issues with the school on his own.

Another thing that helps is a teenager's good name. By this I mean, how is he perceived in the long term by fellow students, faculty and coaches? If he hits a rough patch or false accusations, his past good actions may well pull him through. We also stress that in difficult times it is even more important to be above reproach. It is good to understand why another student might be jealous or resentful and that is a good reason to avoid giving them the slightest opportunity to make anything other than false claims.