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News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

The By Parents For Parents Blog is regularly updated with the latest news and information on topics that relate to parenting teenagers. We'll post parenting advice and tips from trusted online news sources and expert parenting columns.

We invite you to add your comments. Please let us know if you would like some specific topics covered, want to share your experience as a parent dealing with teens, or just have general feedback on the By Parents For Parents Blog.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Are You Dealing with a Diva Daughter?

This story, and others like it, is becoming common: A parent complains that his daughter only wants the most expensive of everything - clothes, glasses, cell phones. There's little gratitude for the parents' willingness to pay for these things, only an ongoing demand for them. What's a parent to do?

"Any teen who really - and I mean really - wanted $325 spectacles [or a Sony Playstation] ought to be able to pay half. I make the same proposition regarding school-age children who want to start wearing contact lenses. One of the most predictable indicators of personal responsibility is financial commitment. A child who has invested their own money towards the purchase of contact lenses will take very good care of them - not so if merely given them."

Challenge your teen to find the clothes, glasses, or cell phone she wants online, at a discount. Most web-savvy teens can do that. The requirement to pay half still stands, but you'll both be paying half of less. Source: WebMD

If your teen or tween daughter is behaving badly, learn how all girls schools can help. With campuses in North Carolina and Oregon, New Leaf Academy helps middle school aged girls get a grip on their issues before they reach high school.

Labels: media_infuences, responsibility, teen_culture

posted by ByParents-forParents at 7:51 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 21, 2008

Teens Need Less TV

The average American household has three to five televisions. On average, teenagers spend more time watching TV than in school or talking to their parents.

"This should be a major cause for concern among parents, as studies have found that excessive amounts of TV can lead to obesity, poor school performance, anger issues and early sexual activity. This is because in an average year of television viewing, a teen will be exposed to more than 14,000 sexual references, over 1,000 alcohol commercials, more than 1,000 murders, rapes, assaults, and armed robberies, and nearly 20,000 commercials."

That's a lot for a teenager to take in during a year. If parents aren't active in their kids' lives, television can influence the way teens view themselves and the world around them. While some parents may be tempted to unplug the TV and pack it way in the attic, what they really need to do is simply spend more time with their kids. The messages kids get via television can be confusing and possibly damaging. They need their parents to help them process and keep a "real world" perspective. Source: Pryor Daily Times

Worried your teen is spending too much time playing video games or surfing the internet? Internet or Video Game Addiction is a real problem many parents face. Learn more at Video-Game-Addiction.org.

Labels: media_infuences, role_models, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 11:03 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 14, 2008

Preteens Want Hair Highlights Just Like Their Favorite TV Stars

Preteen girls are going to beauty salons for hair coloring, permanents, and straightening, according to an article in the New York Times. Color streaks that make them look like teen idol Hannah Montana are particularly popular.

"We've had girls as young as 6 in for highlights, but 9 and 10 is more the norm," said Tammy Currin, the owner of the Toadly Kool Me in Fayette, N.C. "If it's not a relaxer, highlights are usually the first step mothers will allow. Once the girls' friends see them, they're in the next week getting streaks of their own."

Unlike most adult clients who want natural-looking highlights, the preteens prefer chunky ones in wild colors like hot pink. "It's a lucrative niche market for the industry that is beginning to be addressed at trade shows and other association events," Gordon Miller of the National Cosmetology Association told Times reporter Camille Sweeney.

Mark Goodman, the vice president of the association and owner of Hair Designers, a salon in Hilton Head Island, S.C., said that preteens make up 25% of his clients. "Five years ago, the rule of thumb was 15- to 16-year-olds would come in for their first color. Now, that girl is 10," he said.

Some people are uncomfortable with the trend. Nancy Amanda Redd, author of Body Drama, attended Harvard University and is a former Miss Virginia. She said, "These girls are going from baby to mini-adult. They feel naked without their highlights. I think we need a giant dose of realism here."

Source: New York Times

Junior boarding schools for girls offer a safe, nurturing environment for pre-teen girls. Learn about New Leaf Academy and their all girls schools.

Labels: media_infuences, role_models, tweens

posted by ByParents-forParents at 3:37 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

An Honest Look at High School

Recently on the WE channel, the first episode of "High School Confidential" aired. The eight-part documentary follows the lives of 12 teenage girls through all four years of high school.

"The girls of Northwest High are an affluent bunch, though not absurdly rich in a 'Gossip Girl' way. They live in a comfortable suburb and deal with the staples of American teenage life: cheerleading squads and soccer teams, homecoming courts and detention halls, temptations in the form of alcohol and sex. They declare firm ideas about school, family and relationships. They change their minds a lot. And they make their fair share of mistakes."

The series is realistic, but not scary. It's not intended to be alarmist, but rather to take an honest look inside the lives of teenagers. Read more at Boston.com.

Thinking about a private high school or boarding school? Find the best private school for your teen at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: media_infuences, reality, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 9:37 PM 0 comments

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Movie-going Teens Use More TV and Radio

Teens who attend movies often are also more likely to watch twice as much television and radio than their peers do, according to a study of 3,000 people by Integrated Media Measurement, Inc.

IMM divided the interviewees into two groups: those who go to movies and those who don't. The moviegoers consumed the most television and radio. In fact, the more movies they saw, the more they used the other media. IMM analyzes data for companies who are marketing to teens.

Labels: marketing, media_infuences, media_use

posted by ByParents-forParents at 5:26 PM 1 comments

Thursday, December 27, 2007

College Students Tell Researchers that using Pornography is Acceptable

A majority of college students believes that it is okay to use pornography, according to a new study from Brigham Young University. In fact, about one in five male college students said they view pornography every day or nearly every day. Some 86% report that they viewed such materials at least once this year.

Among college women, nearly half said that porn was acceptable, but only 31% have actually viewed it and only 3% were regular users.

Jason Carroll, author of the study, also found that regular porn use is linked to risky behaviors such as binge drinking and having sex with multiple partners. Carroll surveyed 813 students from six different colleges for the study, which appears in the Journal of Adolescent Research.

Worried that your teenage daughter may be engaging in risky behaviors like having sex and using drugs or alcohol? Copper Canyon Academy can help. Copper Canyon is an all girls boarding school in Arizona that offers accredited academics, therapy, and a safe, structured environment for teens.

Labels: college, media_infuences, porn

posted by ByParents-forParents at 2:51 PM 0 comments

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Social Networking Dangers Overstated?

"Online predator" is a phrase that's become well-known thanks to shows like Dateline's To Catch a Predator. Social networking sites have been the subject of news stories and all-school events where kids are warned not to post pictures or personal information on line. But Anastasia Goodstein, author of the book Totally Wired, thinks some of the scare tactics might be overstated.

"The biggest myth that has been perpetuated by well meaning law enforcement, Internet safety advocates, and the media is that the Internet is teeming with predators who are waiting for your child to post just enough information so they can find them and abduct them."

The truth is that, of the 800,000 kids that are reported missing every year, only about 150 are actually kidnapped by strangers. Most men who seek out kids and teenagers online aren't secretive about their identity. Most, about 80% are very open about who they are and what they want. The kids who talk to these men are often kids who have suffered some kind of physical or sexual abuse or have an otherwise troubled home life. Read more at PBS.org.

Labels: internet, media_infuences, safety

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:13 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 30, 2007

The Effects of Sexualization

Young girls have long idolized such superstars as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. But it seems that the idolization is starting at younger and younger ages, as girls are consistently taught - through the media and mass marketing - that they're only as good as they look. The American Psychological Association, in a recent report, called this "sexualization".

"The report, published Feb. 19, defined sexualization as something 'occurring when a person's value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified.' Results showed that every media form contributed to the sexualization of girls and young women by portraying them in a sexual manner more often than boys and men."

The report found that sexualization is particularly damaging to young girls and increases the risk for things like depression and eating disorders. Parents, teachers, and other authority figures and mentors can counteract some of these effects by being positive role models, monitoring what young girls are watching and reading, and complimenting girls for their character, performance in school or sports, and other attributes besides their physical appearance. Read more online.

Labels: media_infuences, risky_behavior, role models

posted by ByParents-forParents at 6:07 PM 0 comments

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