Who is Protecting Our Children?

Last month I wrote about Plan B (birth control ) being available to teens “as young as 15.”  That’s changed.  A district judge ruled that the FDA must comply with a court ruling to “make Plan B One-Step contraceptive pills available to women and girls of any age without a prescription.”  The Obama administration had opposed children having access to Plan B over the counter, but on June 10 abandoned its opposition according to a Washington Post article.

What is Plan B?  Someone who is concerned about the possibility of pregnancy takes Plan B (one or two pills, depending on the formula) within 72 hours of intercourse.  These pills contain high doses of a synthetic version of progestin, a steroid hormone.  The idea is to prevent ovulation, or prevent the sperm from fertilizing the egg, or if fertilization has happened, to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.  This last result is the one that is controversial for those who believe life begins at fertilization.  It is controversial to a LOT of people that young children be given access over the counter to these hormones!

The thought that our young children could be convinced that “nothing will happen” and that a pill can be obtained to (supposedly) wipe away the consequences of a sexual act is more than disturbing to me.  In the 10 years I’ve been teaching in schools, I’ve seen the debut of sexual activity begin at younger and younger ages.  Indeed, sexual predators, molesters, or even just “players” use the excuse that “nothing will happen” (because we’ll “use a condom” or “take pills”) to pressure and persuade.  Early sexual activity simply puts children at risk of emotional, social, and physical consequences.

Young children (OUR children) obtaining powerful hormones without our knowledge seems to me to be a recipe for great hurt.

Pills Don’t Erase Consequences

You may have already heard that the FDA just approved the “morning after” (Plan B) pill for over-the-counter purchase by teens as young as 15.  Those who believe young people can have sex without consequences are applauding this decision.  But those who care about the health and emotional well-being of teens are concerned.  There is a good argument that this is just one more message we send teens that we expect them to be sexually active, and that nothing will happen if they are.

As an educator, teaching teens about how to have healthy relationships (the healthiest choice being abstinence) I have had to keep up-to-date on condoms, pills, abortion, etc. as the “alternative” practices.  Yes, this drug can stop a pregnancy from continuing, but it’s not 100% effective. In fact, ads for the drug admit 1 out of 8 women WILL get pregnant despite taking Plan B.   No pill on the market does anything to protect teens from the epidemic of STDs they face if they are sexually active.  The CDC reports that half of all next STD infections occur among young people.  Indeed, Jeanne Monahan of the Family Research Council commented that “Additionally… a study released in 2010 revealed that adolescent use of Plan B was correlated with an increase in unplanned pregnancies and a high STD rate.”

And of course, no “protection” offered by condoms or pills does anything to protect the human heart.  The powerful bonding chemicals produced through sexual activity affect teens emotionally in lasting ways…something ignored when our culture merely tries to erase the consequences of teen sexual activity by encouraging teens to just pop pills.

Teens More Likely to Drink if Close Friends Do

Teens who have good friends who drink are likely to get their first drink from a friend, rather than from family, revealed a study reported on by livescience.com:  “In the study, having pals who drank and had access to booze was the most important factor in predicting when a kid started drinking — trumping a teen’s own trouble-making tendencies and a family history of alcoholism.”

I couldn’t help but think of the times I, in my quest to be cool and popular, brought little “airline” bottles of alcohol (which I had gotten from my parents’ liquor cabinet) to the junior high dances.  And I appeared to most people, including the parents of my friends, as a “good kid.”  I wonder which of my friends back then were introduced to alcohol by me?

So be alert and aware, parents, to the influences on your teens.  And remember, that boy or girl who has been coming to your house since kindergarten may change, and take a different path from the one you want your teen to travel.

10 Medicine Cabinet Meds Abused by Teens

Could your medicine cabinet be a tempting attraction for a teen wanting to get “high”?  Even if they aren’t trying to get high, could they be hurt by medicine that seems safe?  One of my daughters recently incurred over $1000 in medical bills to find the source of chest pain…only to find out that she’d been taking too much ibuprofin for some pain she was experiencing.  Ibuprofin is listed in this article (LINK) about 10 over-the-counter medicines you might have that could harm your teen…whether they know it or not.  Among the ten are diuretics, motion sickness pills, and even herbal products.

Energy Drinks Can Lead to Emergency Room Visits

In a period of four years, emergency room visits tied to energy drinks doubled, with teens and young adults accounting for more than half of the visits, CBS reported this month. According to the article, one drink might contain the caffeine equivalent of 5 cups of coffee, so it’s no wonder that emergency room physicians are seeing  “a clear uptick in the number of patients suffering from irregular heartbeats, anxiety and heart attacks who said they had recently downed an energy drink.”   Two senators are calling for the FDA to study the issue, after reports of energy drinks leading to “insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures….”  The top three energy drink brands (in case you aren’t aware of what your child could be  consuming) are Red Bull, Monster, and Rock Star.

“Dusting,” a deadly trend among teens

One of the things I try to do for for those who have teens in their lives is expose the latest foolish things young people are doing.  Most of the time, we catch them and no harm is done other than perhaps yelling an exasperated “What were you THINKING?”  But “dusting” is when teens take a can of computer dust cleaner and inhale it, and it can kill the first time.    The high it causes can lead to impairment while driving, and several deaths have already been reported due to drivers being high from “dusting.”  It’s easy and inexpensive to obtain, and the biggest abusers are eighth graders.  A CBS Chicago article describes the trend, pointing out these warning signs: “sudden weight loss, changes in mood, changes in friendships, acting confused and rebellious.”

Heroin Use Exploding in Suburbia

Surely not HERE?  That’s what suburban Chicago parents think when they hear the word “heroin.”  But according to Jack Riley, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, there has been an alarming spread of teen use of heroin in our area.  An article in the Chicago Tribune in July reported Riley’s observation that “heroin has become cheaper and more potent in the last four or five years,” stating that a hit can cost as little as $10.

An earlier Tribune article last March on the surburban heroin problem included the shocking news that “Among Naperville teens, there was a 78 percent increase in felony drug arrests in 2011 over the previous year and a 450 percent increase in heroin arrests during that time.”  But it’s not just Naperville facing this problem, it’s all DuPage towns along I88, sadly termed “Heroin Highway” because it serves as a route for the drugs which come from Chicago’s west side.

Naperville parent Amy Miller, who lost her daughter to heroin last Winter, advised parents (see Article HERE): “If you are suspecting they are using drugs, do everything in your means, don’t be embarrassed like we were,” she said. “Don’t try to handle your problems by yourself. Do everything you can, contact everyone you can.”   The article has information on how to recognize the signs of heroin use, and also recommends, “Parents should snoop around and go into their kid’s rooms, check their phones, check their car, if possible get their Facebook password, said Pam Witt, a district 204 social worker.”

With Chicago the “heroin capital of the world” according to authorities, parents need to be ever vigilant about keeping an eye on what their teens are doing, and with whom they hang out.  Their lives may depend on it.

Leave it up to Youth to Make Cinnamon Dangerous

Here’s another substance abuse fad to be aware of:  Taking the cinnamon challenge.  Even our governor, Pat Quinn,  got caught up in the challenge to down a teaspoonful of cinnamon in less than 60 seconds. He cheated, however, since the true challenge dictates that you do it without water, an impossible task. Videos showing teens spewing a cloud of cinnamon, gagging, hacking and spitting might at first seem funny, and many such videos have gone viral.  But what seems like a harmless prank, can in fact be quite harmful, and has led to hospitalizations for collapsed lungs and pneumonia.  So far, thankfully, there haven’t been any deaths.

Teen Drug and Alcohol Use, the Good and the Bad

It appears that alcohol use and smoking are at historic lows, a great success story, according to the CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America).  Says CADCA Chairman, Arthur T. Dean, “These data show that when our nation systematically and comprehensively invests the resources to reduce access and availability as well as works to change norms and perceptions we can achieve major reductions in youth use rates. However, our nation needs to focus much more attention and resources on effective prevention strategies to reduce marijuana use and abuse,” said CADCA Chairman and CEO General Arthur T. Dean.

Which brings us to the bad news:  Marijuana use (including synthetic marijuana) is up markedly.  The CADCA reported in the article that: “In fact, the annual prevalence rates among 8th graders during the past two years are higher than any time since 2003. Also concerning is that the rate of daily marijuana use rose among all three grades, with 1.3 percent of 8th graders, 3.6 percent of 10th graders and 6.6 percent of 12th graders reporting that they smoked marijuana on a daily basis. Among high school seniors, the daily use rate is now at a 30-year-peak level.  Not only was marijuana use at greater levels among youth, but attitudes toward drug use, which are often considered indicators of future use, have softened with fewer youth reporting that they see a risk of harm in smoking marijuana.”

Sleep-deprived Teens Engage in Risky Behaviors

Now that school is back in swing, and your teen can’t stay buried under the covers until noon like he might have during the holiday break, is he getting enough sleep?  A study of 12,000 teens by the Center for Disease Control found that 7o% of young people are not getting the sleep they need to face the challenges and temptations that come their way .  Lack of sleep negatively affects the prefrontal cortex, which in teens is still developing; this is the part of the brain that helps in making good judgments.  So teens who are sleep-deprived are not just at risk of performing more poorly in school, they are also more likely to engage in sexual activity and use cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.  They were also more likely to report being depressed or suicidal.  The takeaway is that they MUST get more sleep; it’s not just important to their performance in school, but in life.  The ABC report on this study also gives some great suggestions on helping your kids get a good night’s sleep, bettering their chances of having a better life.