A college counselor watches anxiously as her teenage son applies to college without her help. As her son plans for his future, the counselor and her husband reflect on how quickly their lives have changed, seeking ways to steady themselves in the midst of middle age.

In 1985, a New Jersey single mom navigates the struggle of discipline versus understanding as her teenage son and daughter party more and more on the weekends.

Over dinner, an observer reflects on mothers and their omnipresent prevalence in children’s lives.

An overprotective mother attempts to get her teenage daughter to tell her why she is so upset. In an erratic and panicked conversation, the daughter reveals an unimaginable problem they must tackle together.

Unwilling to return to boarding school, a girl begs her mother to let her leave. But when her father becomes involved, she must come to terms with the hatred she feels for her mother's weakness and dependence on alcohol.

Thirteen-year-old Angelle gets into a car accident when her drunken father begs her to drive home in his stead. Later, she must take the witness stand in court and decide her family's future with her testimony.

A young girl works to impress her highly critical parents and submits to a terrible fate as she struggles to meet their impossible standards.

A man thinks about his relationship with his parents (especially his mother) as he watches them grow old. He then realizes that he is now old too.

A high school boy makes a habit of stealing cars, picking up girls, and skipping school. When he begins to worry that he is getting into too much trouble, the boy must decide whether to seek help or continue his criminal lifestyle.

When a young college student's father gives him money for tuition, the student spends it away and lies to his mother for money. His father catches him, but the student remains unsure if his mother knows the truth.