Holidays are tricky times for divorced families. For parents, it can be troublesome knowing your teen is enjoying special moments with the other parent. For your teen, a juggled schedule between families can be very disruptive and disheartening.
I recently read an article on WebMD that discussed Internet addiction. Researchers examined the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and Internet addiction in 2,162 junior high students over a period of two years. About 11% of study participants were classified as having an Internet addiction in the initial assessment. This is an alarmingly high statistic.
Texting has been in the news as kids head back to school. The NBC Today Show did a feature story about a rather graphic commercial related to the hazards of teen texting while driving. I think it makes a big statement, but some critics also think the ad is a bit over the top. What do you think? What the video.
All parents lecture their kids. Even as an adult child, my mother still lectures me, usually about how I am raising my kids. Interestingly, I know that parental lecturing is an ineffective method of persuasion, but I feel it is my adult right to “annoy” my children with lengthy and meaningful/less stories to make them better men.
Whenever there is change, anxiety is natural. Back to school time often causes mixed emotions as kids are both excited and anxious about returning to school. Seeing friends, sharing summer stories, and back to school shopping can make the start of the school year fun. On the other side of the coin, many students are also very nervous as the fall semester begins.
I recently sat in with the Phillips & Company St. Louis Morning Show on Y98 FM. The topic was how parents should manage their teenager’s Web interaction in light of new and ever changing technologies like Skype and iChat. These latest forms of social networking are becoming more and more popular with teens and young adults. In fact, video calls are the modern day party line where teens can both see and hear each other. What is a parent to do?
