By GalTime Teen Expert Jennifer A. Powell-Lunder, Psy.D.

Here's how to help your kids through the social maze.

Most parents and teens face back to school with mixed emotions. It can be difficult to acknowledge that the lazy days of summer are at a close.

Certainly the academic demands can be daunting, however, the challenges and concerns about the social scene should not be underrated.

Such concerns are not only reserved for those who feel socially awkward. Whether or not your teen rolls with 'a group or clique'-- the jocks, the nerds, the queen bees, the emos, goths, etc.--- he/she may be more concerned about either maintaining or manipulating his/her social status than you realize.

While one teen may believe popularity is a prize another teen realizes popularity often comes at quite a price.

Related: 6 Foolproof Ways to Get Your Teens Talking

The cliques and caste system often associated with middle and high s

By GalTime Teen Parenting Expert, Barbara Greenberg, PhD

Here's how to get your teens to open up...

I remember the conversations that I had with my teen daughter. Some of them were so easy and fun and others were much more difficult.

Some of our best conversations seemed to happen when we shared photos of ourselves at similar ages. "Look Amanda--I would say--here I am at the beach at age 15," and we both laughed.

I think that we both couldn't believe that I was ever fifteen. Then, we would start comparing how different fashion was then compared to the contemporary fashion of my daughter and her peers.

Related: Understanding Your Teen's 'Will Not Wear' List

To follow up, I might show a photo of a teen boy that I had a crush on and we'd laugh
some more. I guess the idea of her mom being a teenager and having a crush on a boy was such an incongruous concept. We still love comparing photos.

Almost every day I hear one or more parents tell me that they are having difficulty getting conversations started

Self-confidence is important for all children. It's the foundation upon which they base their self-worth and decisions that will one day impact everything they do. As parents, we worry about instilling just the right amount of confidence in our kids so they'll grow up strong enough to resist peer pressure, yet humble enough that they're not cocky buttheads. It's a delicate balance, really. Here are 10 easy and effective ways to do that! - Lori Garcia

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Common Sense Media

Every month we highlight a few books for different ages -- some exceptional titles that could be the perfect thing to perk your kid's interest, get your reader hooked on a new author, or rediscover an old favorite. Here are our Common Sense Media picks for August:

• For kids 3 to 7, check out It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard (Chronicle Books). A little boy is on the run from a tiger, but no matter how often he gets away, the beast keeps turning up again in this silly, mock-scary adventure that's perfect for read-aloud. Readers are swept up in the action as the boy breathlessly shouts out instructions as if they're on the run with him, telling readers when to duck, run, jump, or hide. "Yikes! He's gaining on us!"
• For readers 8 to 12, there's The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, by Glee actor Chris Colfer (Little, Brown), which follows the adventures of brother-and-sister twins who fall into