“Many of the things we learned during this trial that our children were saying and doing were profane, were ugly . . .[Parents need] to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends.” Judge …
Respect, Consent and Teenage Sex Reflections on the Stuebenville, Ohio Teenage Rape Case
“Many of the things we learned during this trial that our children were saying and doing were profane, were ugly . . .[Parents need] to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends.” Judge …
4 Affirming Messages Parents Can Give Boys About Body Image
Teenage boys, like teenage girls, worry about their appearance. Unfortunately, businesses with products to sell have become aware of this over the last several decades providing a whole new set of insecurities, fears and desires that can be targeted by marketers. So, now parents face the same need to help their sons develop a healthy body image that parents of …
Fostering Sibling Relationships: Part 3
Require siblings to be a role model. As people enter adulthood, they automatically (though not always willingly or positively) move into the position of being an example to others. That is particularly true for members of a family or community. Make it clear that all older teens are expected to be a role model to any younger kids. The youngest …
Taking Teens on a High Risk Spring Break
Any time you take teens on a Spring Break where there is at least one other teenager, it qualifies for a high risk Spring Break. Imagine how bad it can get when there are a bunch of teenagers and college kids crammed on a beach, snowboarding down the slopes or wake boarding on the lake. So does that mean you …
Fostering Sibling Relationships: Part 2
Family activities. Having a relationship requires interacting with each other. If your kids don’t get along well or easily, do things as a family (movies, trips, board games, cooking, volunteering, etc.). Everyone has to interact but there isn’t a spotlight on the kids’ relationships with each other. Remind them they must be pleasant and act like they are getting along …
Fostering Sibling Relationships: Part 1
Oh, the arguing and bickering; the screaming and shoving! And that’s just what’s required to get everyone to school in the morning. When you add how brothers and sisters go at each other, the house can become an urban war zone, complete with insurgents and intermittent explosive devices. For all this, sibling relationships provide the context for your kids to …
Talking About Teenage Love, part 3
Shaping expectations. How you talk about love and relationships will have a significant influence on what your kid expects out of their beloved. Young love-ers are romantic idealists. Their model for love will be fairy tales, cartoons and a naïve, superficial view of dating and dating partners. (We won’t even get into what happens if they have already been watching …
Talking About Teenage Love, part 2
Once you have given some thought to what is meant by love, young love, intimacy, lust and romantic love (see previous column) you are ready (?) to you use that information to help your kid have a better understanding of love in the context of intimate teenage relationships Let’s start with the kinds of strategies for talking to a teen …
What To Do If You Catch Your Kid Drinking?
Most teens are going to drink before they get out of high school. By 18, 69.4% of teens have tried alcohol, 41.5% drank within the last month. Some of these kids will abuse it (15.8% binge drink) and get lost in it (4.4% heavy drinking). (Monitoring the Future Study) As parents even single instances of your kid drinking should be …