Did you know that your teen knows a language you may not? It’s called text messaging and believe it or not they have all types of acronyms for them these days, but you have everything to fear now with these terms. It isn’t your innocent TTYL or BFF, now it deals with the dreaded topic of ….SEX. That’s right, sex texting or sexting is becoming something all parents need to know more about.
A few terms you will want to know is:
8 = this simple number actually means oral sex
420 = marijuana
banana = penis
CD9 =  Parents are around (yep warning about …read more

I’ve read a lot about  Sexting lately. Sexting, in case you ity, didn’t already know, is sending sexual messages and/or photos through the cell phone. It’s a growing trend among teens and it’s easy to see how easily it could all go wrong.
First, there’s the nudity aspect, which is sure to freak out parents, but teens getting naked, it’s nothing new. I was reading something at Switched today that mentioned a  piece in the National Post quoting Professor Peter Cumming from York University, in Toronto who feels that Sexting is along the same lines as Spin the Bottle.
When I …read more

Did you teens get a flu shot this year? During the 07-08 flu season there were 86 pediatric deaths due to the flu.
With the current economic states many college students are replacing their dreams of expensive 4-year colleges with cheaper community colleges.
Miley Cyrus’ tween years were “friendless, lonely and miserable” as she was bullied by mean girls.
One of the teens convicted of beating a fellow student and videotaping it for YouTube got 3 years of probation and 100 hours of community service plus she must write a letter of apology to the victim.
High School Musical’s Zac Efron got a stocking …read more

The other day I had a chat with my teens about sexting. Sexting is the term used when teens send naked, or nearly naked, pictures of themselves to a significant other via picture messaging on their cell phones. My teens hadn’t heard of the term “sexting,” but they do know people who have sexted. In fact my 16-year-old sent a picture of himself in just his boxers to a “girlfriend” he had on MySpace a couple years ago.
We discussed how it may seem like a fun and harmless thing to do. Teens are trying to explore their sexuality. They are …read more

Looking for gift ideas for your teen driver or race fan?
Speaking of gift ideas, the National Institute on Media and the Family has a 2008 MediaWise Video Game Buying Guide including a list of great games for kids.
Melisa’s son experienced his first lockdown at his high school. How scary!
Teens prefer Gmail for their email needs, but texting is still their favorite form of communication.
Kids are actually learning life lessons by sending all those text messages.
But there are definitely some downsides of texting, including swollen thumbs, big bills, and sexting.
Flirting has gone high tech with about 20% of teens sending naked …read more

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads! Put the lawn mower away, drop the power tools and step away from the grill. Today is our day to pamper you. So sit back and surf the net while your wife and kids take care of you.
When you ask how school was, what response do you get from your teen? If your teen is like most teens you get “fine.” But Vanessa Van Petten has some great conversation starters to get teens talking.
Disney is showing full-length movies on their website…for limited times. Finding Nemo ended on Friday, but you can now watch …read more