Following my May 16 blog on Teenage Sexting, I have had numerous requests from parents for acronyms to BOLO—Be On the Lookout for. Your teens and tweens have a new language all their own, in the form of symbols and abbreviations that they are constantly texting to one another. As a parent, it’s important for you to become savvy to the kinds of messages that may be a cause for concern. For...
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What is Teenage Sexting?
Teenage Sexting occurs when a teen takes a flirtatious, nude, semi-nude or otherwise sexually revealing picture of him or herself and sends it to others via cell phone or other means of texting device. Commonsense.org has created a handout about this important topic. This blog shares excerpts from that handout, “Common Sense on Talking About ‘Sexting.’”
While...
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There are many peer pressure facts that most parents think they know. For instance, hanging around with the wrong crowd seems to have a negative effect on teenagers’ behaviors. And, a positive effect can also occur when kids hang around peers with high academic, moral and religious standards. But an effect on the brain?
A recent study at Temple University revealed some interesting peer pressure...
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The Shine
User post: Parenting — Things every parent needs to hear from a teen’s point of view by Anna, on Fri Dec 31, 2010 7:58pm PST
Hello, my name is Anna, and I’m a teen. Every week I see posts on here about parenting, and how to “deal” with teens. The problem is that these posts are all written by adults. I’m not saying that they don’t know what they’re...
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Addiction to video games and the excessive use of video games was posted on CNN Health Chat today:
Here’s what the article had to say about “addiction to video games”:
When it comes to playing video games, it seems moderation is important to a child’s mental health.
A new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics finds excessive gaming may lead to depression, anxiety,...
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Group toothbrushing? Well, teenagers do like doing things in groups!
Dear Dr. Vicki :
When do kids start brushing their teeth without reminders??
Dr. Vicki’s response:
This is a very common parenting question…which should tell you something. There are some things that it seems many children needs reminders way into their teens. Here are my top 5 grooming reminders: Brush teeth; brush hair;...
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"Ahhhh, duh!"
Dear Dr. Vicki:
How do I cut through what appears to be 14 year old hormonal sarcasm?
Dr. Vicki’s response: With teenagers, the best thing to do with sarcasm is to ignore it. Second best thing to do it ignore it. Do you want to hear the next one?
Seriously, particularly at this age, it is so important to pick and choose your battles. In the big scheme of things,...
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It happens all too often. Whether it’s a quick trip to meet friends for breakfast or a late night out at a party, what teenagers may picture as a harmless good time can become a parent’s nightmare.
Regardless of the cause, two teens lost their lives, something every parent dreads.
Experts say there are some actions that parents can take to keep their kids safe as they encounter peer pressure and...
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Kids are under the dangerously false impression that prescription medications carry less risk than illegal drugs bought on the street.
Expert say teenagers are often willing to take any medication as long as it produces an altered state. An incredibly risky trend in prescription drug abuse is poly-drugging; taking a combination of prescription medications at the same time or taking them while consuming...
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