Most Fridays I try to post links to interesting things I’ve found while looking around the internets.

There is finally some scientific evidence that raising teens raises your stress level. This report from NPR’s Morning Edition shows that parenting a teen is inherently stressful even in the best scenarios. One telling quote: “I love this child more than I love myself.” Maybe that’s part of the problem.

As the world gets “flatter” and we are able to interact with more diverse people groups more easily, it might be interesting to discover what we can learn from other cultures’ approach to parenting. This article from Amy S. Choi challenges the idea that OUR way of parenting is the ONLY way of parenting.

In 1938, Harvard University began tracking 268 men. They’ve recently published their findings in what is now being hailed as the longest-running longitudinal study in human history. Bottom lines: alcohol abuse may be the worst thing for a man and his relationships; and true happiness is all about love.

I have several friends who either have recently or will soon celebrate birthdays. I know no one likes to think much about growing older. We all want to pretend we’re still in the same shape we were in when we were in our 20s. But there’s something to be said about life in your 40s. Here’s a list from Wendy Fontaine.

I also have several friends who are making the trip soon to drop kids off at college. In case you missed it, here’s an excerpt from actor Rob Lowe’s memoir where he describes his experience with his oldest son.

Finally, who would have figured that Weird Al would still be churning out the hits? Have you seen his latest? Word Wizards behold the glory that is “Word Crimes“!