This past week a panel of 15 teens actually sat across from some City Hall Candidates. Why is this odd? It normally isn’t teens that are involved in this process, nor do they make the decision of who will actually be in the City Hall. But this time they do, I believe this city has realized that it will be the teens who will be here in the future and it really will effect their lives.
Each teen was part of a group called, “Neighborhood Service Organization’s Youth Initiatives Project” and there were over 100 people listening to this meeting. The …read more

Sometimes I hear the kids arguing and one of them will use a word or phrase that is not a normal part of their vocabulary. For example, not many 17 year-old boys would say this, “You are the most deceitful person that I have ever met.” Instead they would say something like this, “You are a liar.”

Sometimes people get jealous. They worry that someone is slipping away, that they are losing their influence. They worry that they might be losing the love or complete attention of another person and when this happens, they turn to coercion. They hit on a person’s frailties, on …read more

After six months of living with our family, Greg moved back to his Mom’s house on Sunday.
They arrived when I was making dinner, packed his stuff up, and left. I had no idea he was leaving that day – Bay didn’t say a word. I knew that he was going to leave this Summer, but not when. Later, she told me that they were also broken-up. I’m not sure where they stand now. I don’t want to push her – she will talk to me about it when she feels up to it.
Bailey is doing pretty good. She can’t talk …read more

Summer’s here and kids are all home from school so what’s that phrase you are about to wish your kids never learned? “Mooommm, I’m bored. What can we do?” Yes, moms and dads…you’ve entered the land of no return. See you can’t send them back to school and you can’t pawn them off on the neighbor because they are all dealing with the same thing.
For now, you have been designated the anti-boredom police and you better figure something out before they drive you insane. Sure, you can pull out that box of arts and crafts, paper and crayons but honestly …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

This morning I watched the “Oral Sex is the New Goodnight Kiss for Teens” on Good Morning America and my jaw hit the ground. While I had been hearing about teens getting caught having sex at school and in some cases out near where I live one teen had been raped in the girl’s bathroom, another (wasn’t raped) but gave “head” to another student for answers on a test.
I was blown away even more when I told my husband and he told me it wasn’t a shock to hear the girl had been raped in the girl’s bathroom, that it …read more

I have a couple of teens, so to me, the most interesting thing about Sarah Palin at this point is the situation with her teenage daughter, Bristol Palin, and her ex-fiance-baby-daddy, Levi Johnston.
I do not mean this in a tabloid-y gossipy way. I think that these two kids are in a situation that unfortunately happens to teens all over the world, but in their case, it is playing out in the media to a certain point. Kids that age, they are still figuring things out, still very much driven by their hormones or their peers.  They are still in the learning-to-be-a-human phase. …read more

Tonight I learned a lesson in parenting, the one where you learn that your child is ready to move on. You know to grow up and no longer be your baby. What happened? While it was a fun night of excitement and laughter there was a bit of sadness mixed in when my oldest daughter (8 year old) told me she didn’t want to do something.
Yes, this is a normal child thing but for me it was more than that. I didn’t understand why she didn’t want to do this thing. It was something she’d always loved to do, she …read more

Does your teen know where to draw their digital line?
To many teenagers (and adults for that matter) their mobile, IM and online accounts are a large part of who they are. When someone you’re involved with or a friend is controlling, disrespecting, or pressuring you in those spaces, THAT’S NOT COOL.
It can be difficult to express your concern or discomfort verbally, but Callout Cards are a fun, creative way to take some of that pressure off.
Someone pressuring or disrespecting you? Tell ‘em to back off with a callout card. That’s Not Cool provides several services to help you …read more

With the boys being in that dreadful age zone of teen-enstein (that’s a cross between teenager and Frankenstein) I feel like I’ve talked more in the last week than I ever did during those “tween” years.
Most recently I’ve been trying so hard to explain to the kids that a joke is NOT good if it’s at the expense of someone else. I have encouraged them to joke all they want if the person being offered up as humors sacrificial lamb is their own self.
Why is it that this particular lesson is nearly impossible to sink in?
I’ve also tried to …read more