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Do you believe the facts?

Posted on by Tori

The facts:

  • Teens rank parents as the #1 influence on their sexual decisions.
  • 88 percent of teens say it would be easier to postpone sexual activity if they were able to have more open, honest conversations with their parents.
  • 6 out of 10 teens say their parents are their role models for healthy, responsible relationships.

What do you believe? Is this truth?

Do you have what it takes to answer the tough questions your son or daughter has for you?

After examining my own life as a father, I can’t stress enough parental involvement in the lives of our children. This means every area, especially the tough ones. Where is your child getting their information? You have the power to lead, guide and direct? But are you really making a difference? 

We want to hear form you, for a lot of reasons. We want to hear what challenges you are facing, we want to hear success stories and also the stories that are heartbreaking. We want you to know we are here to help. Write us back, I am curious to see your responses.

Balancing Time

Posted on by Tori

Are idle hands the devil’s tool, or is keeping busy becoming an obstacle to your child’s personal development?   These days our children seemed to be grouped in two categories; the over committed students who are involved in every sport and extracurricular activity offered in a 50 mile radius, and the typical student who comes home and vegges on TV and the internet who occasionally peeks their head out to eat or briefly interact with other members of the household when forced.  In the midst of all this, whether your child is involved in what is perceived as constructive or wasteful is there enough time being devoted to what truly matters? Do kids get enough time with their parents? Is there enough time devoted to relationship building in the home amongst family?

Discussing absitinence with your teen

Posted on by Tori

As Educators, when we enter schools and attempt to talk about and teach the issues of healthy relationships, dating, sex and abstinence we are finding that approaching these topics without touching on the benefits of establishing a relationship with God is difficult. So our question to parents is this, is it necessary to tie in the conversation about the importance of God in one’s life when discussing abstinence?

What are we watching?

Posted on by Tori

So the question today is this: Do you believe TV programming is becoming more inappropriate for teens and tweens? Shows on MTV like Real World and The Hills or the reality shows on VH1 like Rock of Love and Charm School…is this too much? Even for those who don’t allow their children to watch these stations, what about CW with the return of 90210 and Melrose, or shows like Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The Beautiful Life and Vampire Diaries. Is programming to mature? Are these shows introducing topics and life perspectives that are too mature? Are these issues and topics being introduced inappropriately? What do you think?

Parents Speak Up

Posted on by Tori

After talking with some students today, it really hit me. Kids want to talk to there parents about sex. But do parents want to talk to their kids about sex? Sure you do! The question is “how”. It is a big step and a very rewarding one to take. www.4parents.gov is a site for you to use as a resource from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. It has a lot of helpful tips and plenty of solid information for you to get the conversation started.  

Now there is one more thing here. Once you get the conversation started, Don’t Stop! It’s not just having “the talk”. It’s talking, a lot. Hopefully through your new conversations you will begin to experience a new intimacy with your kids that will grow and strengthen your relationship to a new level!

How Do Parents Begin the Process of Open Communication?

Posted on by Tori

It’s not easy to reach out teens these days. There seem to be many distractions and little time. Not to mention, our teens think adults are from another planet. So what can we do to make your life easier? Nothing! But, we can empower you to jump in there and start talking to your teen. Our first tip, make the first move. Put yourself out there and let your teen know you are interested in understanding their world. This doesn’t have to be awkward, just try and meet them on their level. One effective way to carve out time for you and your teen to talk is by creating time in your week, preferably everyday, but at least twice a week that you have family time. This can be as simple as dinner together or game night/activity night. Having fun with your teen is the best way to get them to open up. You never know how much this means to them.

Secondly, tell them more about you. When parents let their guard down and open up to their teens, it creates an atmosphere of sharing. What were your interests in high school? What was life like for you? What is your favorite thing about life? Lastly, tell them how you feel. I know teens roll their eyes a lot, and tend to moan and groan when adults talk, but even when they roll their eyes, their ears are still working. Reminding your teen that you love them and letting them know you are concerned about their well being is reassuring. By spending more time with you, your teen will begin to understand your values and standards as a parent. These are just a few ways to engage your teen to open up, do you have any suggestions? Comments?

Gardasil Controversy

Posted on by Tori

If you haven’t seen it already, this Good Morning America segment addresses new evidence about the risks of Gardasil, a vaccine approved by the FDA in 2006 to prevent the cancer-causing STD human papillomavirus (HPV). When it was approved, the CDC and FDA recommended girls (at risk for developing cervical cancer if they are infected with HPV) become vaccinated as early as 11 years old. In the last three years, GMA reports, 7 million Americans have been vaccinated. Of those, 772 cases of serious side effects have been recorded, including 32 deaths. For concerned parents, this report may be cause to do more research before vaccinating your children.

Do Teens Listen to Their Parents?

Posted on by Tori

Hey Parents! So, we’re back at the office talking about teenagers and brainstorming on tips for how to reach them. Time and time again we have this conversation. It’s kind of funny though, because in the end we come up with the same thing, the best way to reach teens is through conversation!

In a conference attended by a colleague and me, a presenter was explaining the importance of communication between parent and child. Within her presentation she said something very profound, “Parents tend to underestimate their ability to influence their teen’s choices and overestimate the influence of friends and the media. Teens continue to say that parents most influence their decisions.”

What’s your opinion? Do you believe this to be true? If so, what can parents do to encourage communication? If not, what can we do to work around the barriers or push past the obstacles?

The Morning After?

Posted on by Tori

Let’s talk about emergency contraception.

Being an abstinence program, EC (also know as “Plan B” or “the Morning After Pill”) is not something we promote or provide for our students. However, it’s important to know what it is, and what it does. If you are like I was, parents, perhaps you aren’t sure of the difference between it and the other pill – RU 486. For simplicity’s sake, today I will focus on EC, and save a description of RU 486 for another day.

What is Emergency Contraception?

EC is a pill – a high dose of hormones (also found in birth control pills). Continue reading The Morning After?