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Slick, flashy ads for tobacco products can exert a strong impact on your child. Cigarette companies spend more than $41 million per day to advertise tobacco products.
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The Latest Craze—Marijuana-Flavored Candy?
A new product on the market may make parents double check the candy bowl. It’s marijuana-flavored candy, and it already could be in stores near you. It may look like a normal lollipop or candy bar, but it tastes like pot.
Parents Talking Together About Teen Driving
Teen driving is a big concern for parents everywhere. But when one school saw a sharp increase in the number of fatal accidents involving teen drivers, parents came together to share their ideas about keeping teens safe on the road. The fact is that teenage drivers are four times as likely as older motorists to be involved in a car crash,1 but parents can take steps to keep their children safe. The article below contains ideas from parents. It was first published in the “Bulldog Bulletin,” the newsletter of the Parent Teacher Student Association of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, MD.
Setting Rules for Teen Dating
As your children grow up, it’s normal for them to think about having a boyfriend or girlfriend. They’ve probably been hanging out with friends of both sexes and doing things as a group, but they may be thinking about one-on-one dating. It’s time to talk about the different types of relationships and love and to prepare to set rules for dating.
The Message Behind the Music
Have you ever knocked on your child’s bedroom door to ask her to turn down the music she’s listening to? This likely scenario is one that often occurs in households across the Nation. But did you stop and truly listen to the lyrics of your child’s favorite songs? Some songs carry negative messages that may be related to aggressive thoughts and feelings.1 Before you try to tune out the “noise” that your child is listening to, consider whether it needs to be limited or turned off.
Teens' Free Time With Friends
It’s 3 p.m. on a school day. Do you know where your teen is…and who is with him? If he is like most teens, he probably likes to spend his free time with friends. Fitting in among peers can be very important to teens, and your teen may look to his peer group for clues on how he should behave. The friends your teen chooses can affect his actions and his well-being, for better or for worse. For example, children are more likely to drink alcohol if their friends also use alcohol.
Touring Colleges: Campus Safety 101
If you have a high schooler who is preparing for college, there is a good chance that your mailbox has been stuffed with glossy college brochures, and you likely will be visiting college campuses soon. Many counselors, teachers, college guides, and admissions officers agree that the best way to get a feel for life on a college campus is to arrange for a visit.
Prosecuting Parents for Underage Drinking
Between graduation parties, end-of-school celebrations, and summer gatherings, your teen’s calendar is likely to be full of festive events this month. You and your teen might be planning a party of your own. You may have mulled over many of the party-planning details, but have you thought about what might happen if you allow alcohol and drugs at your event?
Link Between Underage Drinking and Brain Damage
Youth often is thought of as a time for trying new things, but trying alcohol at a young age can be riskier than you might think. More than two decades of research from the American Medical Association (AMA) shows that alcohol causes severe and possibly lasting brain damage in people under the age of 21.
Younger Students Still Smoking
Picture this: You are sorting through laundry and, in the pocket of a pair of jeans, you find a couple of cigarettes inside a crumpled cigarette pack. The pants belong to your 11-year-old daughter!
Sleepy Teens at School and Behind the Wheel
“Kids have so much energy!” is not true for many American teens, who actually require more sleep than they did as children. A poll by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) shows that most teens are not getting the 9.25 hours of sleep they need each night.
Marijuana's Potency Has Increased Over Time
Even though you or your friends might have smoked pot when you were younger, your teen should steer clear of marijuana. It’s much stronger today than it was decades ago.
National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
If you're the parent of a teen, it's likely that drunk and drugged driving is at the top of your list of concerns for your child.
Signs of Drug Use in Children
As children grow up they take up new fads—hair styles, clothing, speech—but sudden and extreme changes in your child may signal drug use. The latest National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) reports that marijuana is still the illegal drug most often used in this country, though there are many other common substances of abuse.
Their House—My House: Raising Your Child in Two Different Homes
Divorce is never easy for parents or for children. Children may feel like the divorce is somehow their fault. Parents try to help children adjust to the breakup of their home while at the same time possibly dealing with their own feelings and problems, such as guilt, anger, loss, loneliness, or financial problems. Parents who are divorcing often struggle to work out a schedule of visits or joint custody, along with routines that are least disruptive to their child.
"You done good, kid!" Praise Your Child’s Positive Choices
What makes your child follow the rules? What can you do to help him to continue to follow the rules? The answer lies in the brain where reward and punishment mechanisms are at work. People decide which actions to carry out based on rewards and punishments. A reward is something that you will work for. A punishment is something that you want to avoid.
If You're a Parent Who Smokes…
Many of today’s adult smokers started to smoke before they fully understood the risks involved—in their teens or earlier. Most of us know that smoking by parents has become a public health concern, but many smokers find it isn’t easy to quit. Public concern about the costs and effects of smoking has led to indoor smoking laws in many States and the development of a number of tools to help smokers quit.
When Kids Break the Rules
Most parents, as well as teachers and other authority figures, have to deal with young people who break the rules. As kids move from childhood to their teen years, they often push limits, ignore advice, and question authority. Take a closer look at their behavior. Consider that they might be trying to develop their own unique grown-up identities. Remember, you want them to become successful adults, thinking and acting for themselves.
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
Actions often speak louder than words. What you do as a parent could affect your child’s behavior even more than what you tell them. If you tell your child not to drink and drive but you do, you are really saying “this is ok.”
What Is Discipline?
One of the biggest challenges in raising children is providing proper discipline. What do you think of when you think of discipline? Is it about punishing a child to make her behave? Or is it about teaching proper behavior?
Avoid Physical and Emotional Abuse
Just about everyone would agree that children should not be abused. And most adults would agree that children need discipline. Beyond these basic ideas, however, opinions and parenting styles differ. How strict should parents and caregivers be? What kind of discipline works best? What types of punishments are too harsh?
Behave Yourself! (with video)
"Behave yourself!" "Leave your brother alone." "I thought I told you to clean your room." If you've caught yourself saying these things "a thousand times," you may need to review the rules and expectations you have for your child and, more important, how you communicate them.
Choices and Consequences
You're on the phone, so your child knows you're distracted. It's almost dinnertime, but he goes to grab a few cookies, and you catch him. He knows the rule is no cookies before dinner. Do you tell your friend "excuse me" and in a sweet voice say, "Johnny, I said no cookies before dinner" and let him get awaywith it, or do you firmly say "Johnny, you can put those cookies back or you can forget about ice cream tonight" (his evening ritual)?
Set Rules for Your Children About Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drugs (with video)
Talking to your children about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs is an important step in keeping them safe and healthy. However, many parents neglect to take the next step: making sure that their children have clear rules about alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use.
* We refer to a child as "him" in some places and "her" in others. We do this for easier reading. All information applies to both boys and girls unless otherwise specified.
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Last updated on 1/24/07
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