The New Drugs

Picture taken by myself of my Adderall prescri... 

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If you’ve snooped through your child’s bedroom looking for a bag of marijuana because you have your suspicions, you may be searching for the wrong drug. In today’s teenage culture, the drug problem has gone from illegal narcotics to abuse of prescription drugs.

Many children are being prescribed psychotropic medication to treat psychological disorders, and ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders that has drastically risen in the course of the last couple decades. The stimulants used to treat ADHD, according to the FDA, have the same chemical make-up as cocaine and meth amphetamines as the stimulants are nothing more than an amphetamine cocktail. The kids have realized this. Adderall’s street name is commonly referred to as, “Poor Man’s Crack.” With so many of them being required to take said medications without much supervision, instead of taking their pills, quite a few are selling them, generally to other students.

In addition to stimulants, pain killers, usually stolen from a parent or family member, have become a popular prescription drug for illegal sales. Also, drugs that treat anxiety like Xanax are semi-popular as well.

The danger isn’t just that the children are taking these pills. Many crush them up and snort them, sometimes mixing them up for a better buzz. Safeguard your pill bottles, and keep a very watchful eye on the prescriptions your child has to take. In addition, talk to them about the dangers of these medications and mixing them. Keep a look out for pills, including what their friends are bringing.

Filed Under: Disorders Tagged With: , ,

Developing Safe Driving Practices

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Quite a few videos are circulating the web on the dangers of texting and driving. In addition, you can find many on the dangers of drinking and driving. While these are definitely important concepts to talk to your child about regarding driving, here are some other tips.

When you drive, talk out the laws and why you drive the way you drive. Explain the method to your madness, such as, “I switched lanes because people frequently merge into this lane at that moment…” In addition, explain the laws such as right of way, and feel free to give pop quizzes.

While texting and cell phones provide as a popular distraction, they are not the only distractions to the road. Empirical evidence supports that conversations are the key distraction with cell phones more so than the handling of the phone. It doesn’t stop with cell phone usage as conversations with other passengers can be just as dangerous as texting.

Teach defensive driving techniques. Not only should a driver pay attention to what he is doing on the road, but also he should pay attention to the other drivers. Many accidents are avoided with a little foresight.

Make sure they know not only should they be wearing seat belts, but all passengers in the car should as well. Include your child in the insurance set-up so that she is aware how insurance works. Explain how liability insurance works, and when it is needed, and who is responsible for passengers in the vehicle.

Limiting distractions, defensive driving techniques, and an understanding of natural consequences as well as the dangers of the vehicle will help promote safe driving.

Filed Under: Behavior, General Tagged With: , ,

Benefits to Travel

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Sometimes the best education you can provide your pre-teens and teens is travel. In the United States, the best skill you can have for the current job market is social skills, which also entail developing healthy relationships with your peers.

Teenagers are at the age where they are in search for their identity, and they base this off their own knowledge and experiences. Many assume they already know everything they need to know, which makes many parents laugh maniacally. If their hometown is all they have to pull experience from, then they really don’t know much socially beyond their own community.

In their struggle to find their identity, it is very common for teenagers to get lost in the “me world.” Everything is about them. The way you dress is about them. The notion that you may not have the money to get them a mustang as their first car might not appeal to them. Children who travel a lot and see different cultures at play generally somehow naturally gain a better understanding of their role within the world.

Diversity is a big deal in this era. Many cultures have historically come together in the United States to form a great nation; however, in this era with the age of technology, everything is global. Even many small businesses now reach an international market. While learning a second language may seem like a very obvious skill to help ensure success, learning about other cultures and what makes people tick worldwide will provide better assurance to that success.

While international travel is sometimes the best travel you can get for educational purposes, even military brats who mainly lived in different states have developed a lot of these skills. Learning the transition and adaptation techniques with different cultures or subcultures is the primary goal, and even traveling within your continent can be beneficial.

Filed Under: General, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Getting Married Early from the Parent’s Viewpoint

Your son or daughter wants to get married. You believe he or she is too young to do so. For those who are under the age of 18, parents must consent to the marriage. For those older than 18, the best you can do is to provide your view on why the couple should wait. Instead of getting angry and trying to stop the marriage, a good heart-to-heart talk may help them to see why you want them to wait. Show your concern in a way they will listen.

Tips for Success

If your son or daughter wants to marry young, it may be because they believe they can handle this new type of life. Sometimes, a good conversation can encourage the couple to make a different decision. These tips can help:

  • Talk about the costs of a wedding, asking if they have the funds. From the cost of engagement rings to the costs associated with a ceremony, reception and honeymoon, chances are good your young couple does not realize the true cost.
  • Ask them to wait until they are 18. If they love each other now, it should not be too hard to wait until 18. This gives the couple more time to get to know each other before a commitment like marriage.
  • Discuss living arrangements and the ability to support themselves after being married. Show the couple the true costs of living on their own.

Sometimes, offering another solution works best. For example, tell them getting engaged is okay, but that waiting until they are 18 to get married is important. Have a conversation about these options to encourage them.

Filed Under: Relationships Tagged With: , ,

Does College not Appeal to your Teenager?

Many parents get head strong at believing a college education is the only way to succeed in this life, and some kids really loathe the idea of college. No fear. College is not the only way to succeed; in fact, if an individual has no desire to attend college, that individual probably won’t succeed with it. Two other options to consider…

Military

While the idea of deploying to a combat zone does not sound appealing for a parent to wish upon their children, the military is often a great place for people who wish to serve their country, even if it means fighting in a war. The U.S. military offers a contract removing the “at will” nature of many jobs; in addition, they offer free training, free college, a base pay, different types of extra pay, free housing and food (or a stipend for such things), access to free legal representation, and access to many services. Active duty members also often get to travel to different places, and they get to wear a cool looking uniform complete with authentic dog tags. Keep in mind many enlisted have a hard time finding a job after separation; however, many officers, especially those with multiple college degrees, find themselves choosing between many well-paid jobs.

Apprenticeships

No matter how bad the economy gets, this world will always need skilled labor such as electricians, plumbers, HVAC, carpenters, mill wrights, masons, welders, and so forth. In most cases in the U.S., you can join the union to gain apprenticeship experience, but some companies hire entry level apprentices (though they may later require you to join a union). As you gain experience, you move up job skills which usually include a nice hike in pay. Apprentices usually earn on average $10 to $20 an hour while Journeyman (usually after 5 years of experience) can earn an average of $30 an hour. Most of these jobs come with full benefits, retirement, and overtime and holiday pay (like you get double and a half if you work Christmas Day).

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , ,

Goal Setting with your Teen

Your child is getting to an age where his priorities are probably starting to contradict with yours as a parent. Sitting down and talking with your child is a positive step in their development, and while the effects are generally not immediate, you are planting a seed and those discussions will be remembered for a lifetime. Keep in mind your child is now an individual who is hitting the age of reasoning, so the methods you used when your child was a toddler are not going to be fitting now (such as the “because I said so” approach).

Erickson’s stages of cognitive development state at the teenage years, your child should be focusing on their identity trying to discover who they are, establishing their standards and principles on life, deciding who they want to become, and trying to merge their past experiences into their future potential. In the spirit of these events, they often try to shy away from responsibilities and are less apt to make commitments.

Discussing goals is a great way to find a compromise between your expectations of your child and your child’s individuality. At this time in their life where they are trying to discover who they are and who they want to become, goal setting is a perfect opportunity for you as a parent to help guide them through this process without forcing them to commit to the goals. Do this regularly because as their ideals change, so will their goals.

Some types of goals to work on include learning goals such as academics, educational activities, college planning, career planning, etc. In addition, spirituality, finances, housekeeping, athletics, and social goals are very important.

The purpose of goal setting isn’t necessarily in this case to set and achieve goals as much as to act as a tool to help establish a focus and discuss your expectations and your child’s desires as well as opening up the lines of communication for other issues such as love, sex, drugs, alcohol, friendships, ethics, morality, and everything you are having a hard time getting your teen to openly discuss.

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , ,

Young Drivers make Mistakes

Let’s face it: young drivers make mistakes. Brought on by distractions, recklessness, or just plain inexperience, the mistakes most common to teen drivers can put themselves and others on the road in danger. There are certain behaviors behind the wheel that cause the biggest problems for teenage drivers:

  • Distractions: texting, cell phones, iPods…with all the wonders of modern technology, young drivers often get caught up in things other than the road. Texting or chatting grabs a new driver’s attention away from what’s out there.
  • Too many teens: Teenage drivers have a tendency to pack their cars with passengers, often beyond what can fit in their car. This is another source of distraction. It also leads to aggressive driving that can place young drivers and their friends in dangerous situations.
  • Risky behavior: Teens are more likely to engage in dangerous practices like changing lanes without looking and ignoring signs and signals. They’re also less likely to buckle up.
  • Driving at night: Night driving poses risks for inexperienced drivers, and driving while tired is a mistake many young people make.
  • Lack of experience: New drivers just don’t yet have the experience of driving in tough weather conditions. Also, they often can’t spot potential hazards on the roads.
  • Speeding: This common trait of youthful driving gives the driver less time to react to anything in their path.
  • Drinking and driving: This one’s self explanatory, and accounts for some of the most dangerous aspects of teenage driving.

Driving is an important part of growing up, and parents can help their teenage children learn the implicit rules of the road by getting involved. Driving takes practice…and new drivers can pick up good practices from their parents.

Filed Under: Behavior, Disorders Tagged With: ,

Parent vs. Teacher: Working Together to Enhance Education

Education seems to be at the top of everyone’s list in today’s world. Even the Black Eyed Peas, performing at the recent Super Bowl, entreated the President to fix an educational system perceived as needing substantial improvements. In the current climate, teachers are held to strict accountability standards pinned on high-stakes testing. However, these tests don’t account for discipline that takes place at home—and that’s just what many teachers pinpoint as a key ingredient for a successful education. The current debate of teacher accountability often pits parent against teacher in determining responsibility for children’s learning.

Role of the Teacher:

Grading systems that judge teachers solely on high-stakes test performances of students hold teachers accountable for matters beyond their control. A child’s family situation and own motivation may hinder (or help) performance, regardless of teacher ability. At the same time, it would be naïve to dismiss the need to hold teachers to certain standards for educating their children, just as it’s important to keep sight of the value of pushing kids to achieve their full potential.

Role of the Parent:

Parents play a complex role in the debate as well. Good parenting and discipline can inspire a child to succeed, while parental disinterest may allow a child to neglect their education. Indeed, teachers under pressure from standardized accountability systems often cry out for greater parental involvement. Of course, a great teacher can inspire a child from the most difficult of backgrounds to achieve towering heights.

Placing the blame ignores the bigger picture—parents and teachers need to work together to identify the unique needs of each child. Each party should take the time to talk to kids and see what and how they’re learning. Good parenting and inspiring teaching together can “fix” education.

Filed Under: Relationships, Teens Tagged With: ,

Keeping Kids Safe in Cyberspace

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The news has been full of stories about how kids are more net-savvy than their parents, meaning that parents are less equipped to protect their kids from the many evils of the Internet, from viruses to sexual predators. Parents need to step up and recognize the ways that they can help protect their kids, even in the cyber world. Here are three reasons why you need to know how to protect your teen’s Internet surfing:

  1. Sexual Predators: The first reason that you need to make sure that your teenagers are not talking to strangers online and giving out their personal information is because of the risk of sexual predators. The Internet offers these predators a much easier way to contact your kids and figure out where they are. It is very important that your children understand the risks of talking with strangers online and that you know what they are saying in chat rooms and on instant messenger.
  2. Online Bullying: Not only do you need to watch out for strangers, but you also need to watch out for other kids. Cyber bullying has reached shocking levels, as students are even more brutal when merely typing something instead of saying it out loud. You need to know if your child is being harassed.
  3. Inappropriate Content: There are more than enough websites for teens to accidentally find that contain pornography, graphic text, or bad language. Unlike the television and books in your house, you cannot review every website your kids will see before they visit it. You need to understand how to check your teen’s browsing history, and how to set up blocks for inappropriate websites.

Software like PC Tools is available to help monitor your teen’s access to questionable websites and to watch what they are saying to others in chat rooms or on instant messenger. Use your better judgment and watch out for your kids by setting up these protections.

Filed Under: Relationships, Teens Tagged With: , ,

Three Signs Your Child is Not Doing Homework

Many young students return home from school each day complaining about the seven hour school day they just sat through. This is a gripe that transcends both time and place, because children since the beginning of dawn have been complaining about school. It makes sense that after complaining about such a long day the last thing they would want to do would be homework. Unfortunately, schools require that students do homework and most schools collect that homework and it constitutes a high percentage of their grade. Therefore, homework is important. Here are a few signs that the kids are doing their homework.

Three Signs the Kids Aren’t Doing Their Homework

1. Faking sick- The number one excuse for not having homework done is “I’m sick”. Most children pull this at least once, but some pull it quite often in order to compensate for not completing their homework. It usually starts the night before with complaining about not feeling good and ends up in the morning with fake coughing, a sad face, and a request to feel their forehead.

2. Early Morning Homework Sessions- If a parent constantly finds their child or children at the computer early in the morning or deep in a textbook at seven AM, it’s usually a sing that something else is taking precedence over the homework and now it’s getting done at the very last minute.

3. Call from Teacher- This is the most obvious sign, because it’s usually the teacher calling to say that the child is not completing, handing in, or try on their homework. This sign is self explanatory and usually stems from faking sick, or early morning homework sessions.

Whether it’s too much TV and video games, or the faking sick routine, students will find multitudes of excuses to not complete or hand in homework, however, because of the importance placed on homework it is the role of the parents to ensure that their children are keeping up to par.

Filed Under: Disorders, Teens Tagged With: , ,
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