It won’t be enough to just help your child understand the protests and rioting that followed the killing of George Floyd. (See previous blog.) This is a profound teaching moment about living a moral life. Morals are the bedrock of character. Morals are the wellspring of right and wrong. Not just when it is convenient. Not when it is easy. …
Sexual Assault & Teenagers: An Exercise for Parents and Teens
This document contains a series of questions and answers parents can use to review important aspects of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. It is intended to be a catalyst for parents to introduce this important topic to their teens and to start a discussion that hopefully will continue past the end of the exercise. The information in this exercise …
Thirteen Things to Talk to Your Teen About 13 Reasons Why A Parent’s Guide Episode 9: Side 5A (Part 1) Slut Shaming
[Note: It has recently come to light that the author of the book this video series was based on has been expelled from The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for violation of their harassment policy as reported by Deadline.] Thirteen Reasons Why, a video series based on a best-selling teen novel, is the story of a 17 year old …
Thirteen Things to Talk to Your Teen About 13 Reasons Why: Episode 5-Respecting Boundaries & Gay Shaming
[Note: It has recently come to light that the author of the book this video series was based on has been expelled from The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for violation of their harassment policy as reported by Deadline.] Thirteen Reasons Why, a video series based on a best-selling teen novel, is the story of a 17 year old …
Rumor has it . . .
Adolescence is a time of whispers, rumors and gossip. Almost always it is about taking a kind of pleasure in celebrating someone else’s inadequacies or knocking them off their high horse (or, their perceived high horse). In most instances, spreading rumors is at the very least ungenerous and, at most, cruel and mean-spirited. Just because it is a common occurrence …
More Questions (for your teenager) from Steubenville, Ohio
The previous column presented questions to generate a conversation between you and your teenager about issues raised by the rape of a teenage girl in Steubenville, Ohio. The questions continue. Responsibility Whose fault is it when someone is attacked? What if they were saying really insulting things to the person who attacked them? What if they were walking around in …
Questions (for your teenager) from Steubenville, Ohio
“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 …
The Heart and Soul of the Next Generation by Michael Bradley
I get really emotional thinking about people who make heroic sacrifices. It is something that maintains my hope in humanity. The odd thing is I am not talking about the heroes you read about in the news. You are not likely to hear of the ones I mean. They are quiet and unassuming. Their heroism is the ordinary, profound sort …