Subscribe to the By Parents For Parents Blog!

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.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Pointers for Parents

Tammy Linn is a business woman, mother, and has been married for 26 years. But as her kids begin to enter their teenage years, she thinks her most challenging years are still ahead of her. So she developed some "common-sense" tips to help get her through.

"Choose your battles. It's pretty safe to say that I disagree with many of the things my teen says and does, but if I confronted him on all the issues that are 'just not for me,' our mother-son relationship would be nonexistent."

Linn goes on to suggest that parents stop trying to figure out what their teen is thinking ("it will drive you crazy"), and that they catch their kids doing something "right" for which they can receive recognition and praise. Source: AZ Central

Stone Mountain School offers help with troubled boys. Learn more about their therapeutic boarding school at StoneMountainSchool.com.

Labels: advice, parenting_tips, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 11:51 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Big Cities Safer for Teen Drivers than Rural Areas and Small Cities

Teens who live in big cities like Chicago and New York are less likely to die in car accidents than their peers who live in smaller cities or rural areas, according to a new report from Allstate Insurance Company.

About 6,000 American teenagers die in car crashes every year. The number one cause of teen fatalities is driver error and not alcohol, as most people may believe.

Fatal car crashes for teens in rural areas are double those in cities and suburbs.

The most deadly areas for car crashes are the Tampa area in Florida; Orlando, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Nashville, TN; Phoenix, AZ; Kansas City, MO; and Atlanta, GA. The cities with the fewest teen car deaths are San Francisco/Oakland, CA; San Jose, CA; New York City; Los Angeles, CA; Cleveland, OH; Milwaukee, WI; Boston, MS; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; and Chicago, IL.

Labels: driving, safety, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:46 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 28, 2008

Teens Spending Less Money than Last Year: $70 a Week

Call it the teen recession.

Teen spending on clothes is down by more than 12% this year, and experts believe it will fall further. Teens spend over 40% of their money on fashion, according to the15th semi-annual "Taking Stock with Teens" survey.

Teens represent a huge chunk of the American economy, spending $1.65 trillion over the past ten years. The average person in the 12- to 17-year-old age group spends $70 a week, down from $83 last year.

Labels: money, teen_culture, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 6:17 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Teen Talk Helps Families Connect

When children are younger, they love talking to their parents. As they become teenagers, however, that often changes and parents may begin to lose touch.

"While it's normal for teens to want to spend more time with their friends, parents and teens need to stay connected... When it comes to the tough topics, you are the best person to talk to your teen. Clear communication is essential to keeping teens safe. Your teen needs to know what your values and expectations are and the consequences for unacceptable behavior."

The book The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising a Successful Child offers several suggestions for keeping communication open. Among them are "do things one-on-one," "talk often with your teen using an affirmative tone and body language," and "do as I say, not as I do doesn't work." Source: Centre Daily Times

Labels: communication, relationships, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 6:32 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Teens Mostly Happy with Their Lives

A new survey by a national consumer research group finds that the vast majority (over 70%) of teens rate themselves as happy with their friends, talents, grades, health, and family members.

Most teens (58%) are also happy with their bodies and looks (68%). The 13- to 17 year-old group also believes that looks are important to the way you feel about yourself and to being respected by others.

When asked the age-old question of "love or money," teens clearly preferred popularity. Only 24% chose "having a lot of money" compared to the 75% who preferred "having a lot of friends." However, 47% would rather become one of the world's 50 richest people compared to 53% who would rather be among the world's most beautiful.

The Intelligence Group is a market research, trend-forecasting, and consulting company focusing on Gen X, Gen Y, moms, teens and tweens. This survey involved interviews of 750 teenagers.

"The answers to our questions surprised many in the marketing community," said Jane Buckingham, president of the Intelligence Group. "We need to rethink how to appeal to this demographic."

Labels: happiness, mental_health, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 11:38 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

One-third of Teens Online Contacted by Strangers

Strangers are more likely to contact teens who post profiles online or who participate in social networks like Facebook or MySpace, according to a new survey by the Pew Institute.

It did not matter if a teen's profile was public or private. Strangers contacted about one-third of the teens in the survey. Of that group, one-fourth reported feeling scared or uncomfortable when contacted. Girls were more likely to be contacted by strangers than boys.

The survey was conducted in August 2007 among 935 adolescents ages 12 to 17 years old.

Find boarding schools and other programs for troubled teens at TeenBoardingSchools.com.

Labels: internet, online_safety, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 12:40 PM 0 comments

Monday, June 04, 2007

Raising Night Owls

Staying up late and getting up early seems to be a rite of passage for teenagers. But most scientists and those in the medical community agree that adolescents actually need more sleep, not less. Ideally, teens should get eight to ten hours of sleep a night. But if they have to get up at 6:30am for school, that means they should be in bed by 9:30 or 10pm at the latest. Not likely, right?

"What can a parent do to help their teen stay rested? It seems the ideal scenario would be to allow your teen to do nothing - as if! Instead, help your teen take a look at his or her schedule and see how sleep can be fit in to cut down on incidence of sleep deprivation. Since energy levels usually dim in the afternoon, instead of coming home and plopping down on the computer for an hour to "chat" with friends, encourage your teenager to put up an away message and take a nap."

Though you may not set a strict bedtime for your teen, consider having a "room curfew" that requires your teen to be in his or her room at a certain time. Encourage quite activities (no TV, video games, or computers) after a certain time of night to help your teen begin to wind down.

Read more at TeenagersToday.com.

The best high school boarding schools can be found at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com. Private boarding schools, military boarding schools, and other residential schools are all listed at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: curfews, sleep_deprivation, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:32 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 28, 2007

Professional Drivers' Training Cuts Risks of Injury Accidents

Teens who learned to drive from their parents, relatives or other non-professional instructors are 50 percent more likely to get into an injury accident, according to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute.

Researchers looked at the records of 1.4 million drivers under age 18. Those drivers who were taught by anyone other than a professional instructor were more likely to be involved in a serious injury accident. Before 1997, all Texas drivers had to have professional training.

Would you like to help your child or teen with Asperger's to achieve success in school? Read "Achieving Success in School Settings for Children and Teens with Aspergers Syndrome".

Labels: driving, parents, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 10:48 AM 0 comments

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Boys Believe "Macho Guys" Too Cool to Visit Doctors

A study of teenage boys indicates that many do not like to go to the doctor because they believe that is an unmanly thing to do.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed data from 1700 young men ages 15 to 19 years old and found that the boys with the most traditional beliefs about manhood were less likely to visit a doctor. Traditional beliefs were measured by affirmative answers to questions like "Is it essential for a guy to get respect from others?"

If a teenage boy did visit a doctor, he was unlikely to discuss issues such as birth control and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. The researchers also reported that while girls openly discuss topics like sex and menstruation with their mothers and physicians, boys do not usually have such discussions with parents or health care providers.

This study appears in the April issue of Pediatrics.

If your son is too cool to talk to a doctor, then how do you get him to open up? Equine therapy and outdoor therapy are two great ways to get teens to work on their issues and get to healthy place in their lives. Learn more at Animal-AssistedTherapy.com and WildernessProgramsInfo.com.

Labels: communication, health, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 10:44 AM 0 comments

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Please Stop the Rollercoaster!

Please Stop the Rollercoaster is a guide for parenting teenagers and can be used independently, or as part of a parenting discussion group. The book is based heavily on research and is designed to help develop parenting skills.

"The hands-on approach helps parents understand their developing adolescent. This book is aimed for parents with teens in grades 6 - 11, and is approved by the National Middle School Association."

A separate leader's guide can be purchased for those who wish to start a discussion group, and excerpts from the book can be downloaded and read online. Read more at PleaseStoptheRollerCoaster.com.

Labels: parenting_books, parenting_tips, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 11:10 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Quality Books on Parenting Teens

Parents of teenagers often seek solace in books. Some are looking for advice; others simply want to know they're not alone. The teenage years are tough, both for the teen and for the parent.

"Teens are beautiful in the same way that thunderstorms are. You never know whether to step outside and revel in the display or run for cover."

This list of books offers both sound advice and reassurance that parents all over the world are struggling with the same experiences, questions, and doubts. Read more at ParentingTeens.com.

Labels: parenting, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 5:12 PM

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Teens Ask for Science-Based Sex Ed

Teens from Des Moines, Iowa spent part of Tuesday at the Capitol telling legislators that including medical and scientific information in sex education classes would help reduce and prevent teen pregnancy and disease. Many of the teens agreed that more sex education is needed.

"'You can't do a two-day thing on sex and be like, "OK, you know enough." You can't say, "Here's pamphlets and video, let's call it a day,"' said [Venessa] McDole, who is a peer counselor with R3..."

The Iowa Senate and House both have bills on the table that would require science-based, age-appropriate sex education. A subcommittee with discuss the bills today. Read more at DesMoinesRegister.com.

Labels: education, sex, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 5:15 PM

Friday, January 26, 2007

Illinois May Toughen Driving Laws

In 15 months, 15 teens were killed in driving accidents in the state of Illinois. In an order to reduce the number of needless deaths, state Senators and Representatives are proposing a bill that would toughen the laws that govern teen drivers.

"One provision would triple the amount of time - from three months to nine - that a teen (typically a 15-year-old) must hold a learner's permit. Only six states now have a permit phase that is nine months or longer, according to the Insurance Information Institute."

Other provisions include earlier curfews and six hours required driving with an instructor. Read more online.

Labels: driving, laws, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:26 PM

PREVIOUS POSTS

ARCHIVES