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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.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

TV Series Shows "Reality" of Parenting

In what may have been a clever ratings move or - as producer Tom Shelly states - a genuine attempt to address the issues of teen pregnancy, NBC is launching a new series titled "The Baby Borrowers," in which teenage couples provide round-the-clock care for someone else's children.

"Unlike other reality shows, which are primarily interested in putting its players on the edge of a hot tub or a nervous breakdown, 'Borrowers' appears to be genuinely sincere about its mission: show teenage viewers that parenthood is a very grown-up grind."

An 18-year-old girl from New Hampshire who appears in the series said she got just that kind of wake up call. Kelsey Lampman went into the show thinking she had enough experience and good sense to handle full-time parenthood. By the end, however, she admitted that she needs to wait for the right time and the right person. "The Baby Borrowers" is scheduled to air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

Youth Care teen residential treatment program offers a parenting course for pregnant teens. Visit to learn about their "Baby Think It Over" program.

Labels: reality, responsibility, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 7:45 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

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

Monday, March 17, 2008

TV Not Always Bad

Jennifer Cole is so busy trying to keep up with her five boys that she admits she doesn't have much time to worry about what they're watching on TV. She feels that the time she spends talking with them about real life verses television life is enough to keep TV's influence to a minimum. Some experts agree.

"While [Elizabeth] Berger, a child psychologist, believes that TV violence and sexuality are not constructive for children, she said there is too much of a tendency to blame TV rather than adult society. When children aren't spoken to about violence, she said, it could present a problem."

Dr. Don Shifrin, co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Communications Council agrees, saying it's important for parents to talk to their kids about the things they watch on television because most TV violence is "sanitized." Read more at KCRA.com.

Labels: communication, involment, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 10:29 AM 0 comments

Sunday, January 27, 2008

American Teens Prefer TV to Reading

A worldwide Harris Interactive poll of teenagers in the United States, Hong Kong and Shanghai found that American teens watch more television than their Asian counterparts, who are more likely to read magazines. However, the Chinese teens played more online video games than Americans (80% of those in Shanghai compared to 20% in the USA).

The top goal of teens no matter where they live is to become a millionaire.

Labels: reading, teen_culture, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 9:12 PM 0 comments

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Tween T.V. Parents Will Love Too

Time in front of the television is part of American life. Pre-teens (sometimes called tweens) have their own favorite shows, mostly airing on The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which parents may or may not be familiar with. A parent might not recognize titles like "All That," "Drake & Josh," or "iCarly," but chances are their pre-teen kids know the titles and the theme song lyrics.

"While, for the most part, tween shows are the domain of children and children only, don't be so sure there isn't something in some of these shows for the parents as well."

For sake of spending time with kids, some of these tween shows are worth checking out. Though their target audience is the pre-teen crowd, many of the shows have positive messages and are entertaining enough for child and parent to watch together.

Excel Academy's programs for troubled teens help teenagers get back on track emotionally and academically. Learn more today at excelacademy.com.

Labels: communication, teen_culture, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 3:09 PM 0 comments

Monday, October 08, 2007

The TV Dilemma

Many experts warn of the negative effects caused by too much television. Potential issues can arise in physical, emotional, and mental health. What do you do when one parent uses the television for background noise, while the other would prefer keeping it turned off? How you raise children to keep a healthy balance between television watching and the "real world"?

"[You could] set up a 'TV room' where [your husband] can wander in and read, talk on the phone or actually put 100% attention on the TV itself, but where it was a no-kid zone. Most of the time he'd know it was there but you'd leave the TV off, and if he felt like he needed a 'fix', he could get it easily and with minimal disruptions."

Also consider what's playing on television. If one of you needs the 'background noise' consider playing meditative DVD's or even the radio. Regardless of the solution, it's important to keep the lines of communication open, so both of you can freely discuss your thoughts and feelings and find a compromise that's mutually acceptable.

Excel Academy is a private college prep boarding school for struggling teens in Texas. Learn more about their program at http://www.excelacademy.com.

Labels: communication, compromise, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 9:11 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Watching Sexy TV, Music and Movies May Influence Teens to Have Sex Earlier

Blame the media?

Young white teens who take in a lot of sexual content from movies, television, magazines and music are twice as likely to have sex at an earlier age than those who don't, according to a study done in North Carolina. The "media effect" was much weaker for black teens, who were more influenced by parents and friends.

Researchers in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, interviewed about a thousand middle school students ages 12 to 14 years and asked how often they were exposed to sexual content in the four media. Two years later, the white teens who had the most exposure to such media were 2.2 times more likely to be sexually active than those who did not.

The research team also concluded that parental attitudes among both white and black 16-year-olds could deter them from having sex, but the biggest risk factor was if the teens believed their friends were sexually active. This study appeared in the April 2006 issue of Pediatrics.

Labels: music, teens, tv

posted by ByParents-forParents at 1:24 PM

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