Is raising teenage girls tougher than it seems? My answer is No, it doesn’t have to be. When my daughters came into their teenage years, everyone was telling that these were going to be the toughest years. Well, they weren’t. I enjoyed raising teenage girls, we had so much fun together. The key to enjoying raising your girls is get involved with them. I used to play board games with them and their friends, go on vacations with them and of course their friends. I did a lot with them…and their friends.
Great Tip:Include Their Friends
I think including their friends helped my relationship with them. First of all at a certain age they want to be with their friends more than you, this is normal. I see so many parents fighting this and excluding their friends. I didn’t want my daughters spending time with only to be waiting for our time together to end so they could hang out with their friends. Grocery shopping was even an event with their friends. I actually remember a time when my daughters couldn’t go and one of their friends wanted to, so we went together
If you want to know your teens well, know their friends well also. Because I wasn’t trying to exclude their friends, it made hanging out with them not only easy but totally enjoyable. Today, we have so many stories about fun adventures that they remember with all of us, including their friends, and their friends have fond memories too. So parents, if you want to spend more time with your teenagers, include their friends.
Bullying is a real problem, and it’s your responsibility as a parent to talk to your teens about it. If they are being bullied, take it seriously. If they seem to be a bully talk to them about how treating people with respect and kindness affects the world. If you are a bully, I’m talking to you parents, start looking at your behavior and how it’s affecting your kids, friends, family, and the world. Bullying can be something as simple as not letting others have an opinion and cutting them off. Bullying comes in all sizes and packages…Are you one?
Broward County is no stranger to bullying. Last school year Deerfield Beach Middle School held the spotlight in the most negative of circumstances. Starting with Michael Brewer who was nearly burned to death, and several months later the brutal and savage beating of Josie Ratley.
As a community, a group of Broward County middle school students joined together with the help of State Farm, The Broward Sheriff’s Office and The Humanity Project to publish two books targeted at combating bullying.
The Miami Herald reported one of the bullying books is about a privileged and selfish character Lucina who has everything she wants but degrades everyone who doesn’t share her fortune. The other book is about Michael, who is dyslexic and of black and Asian heritage. He’s influenced by his abusive father to bully others.
Students also worked on illustrations and cover art. The books will be used as part of The Humanity Project’s innovative Anti-bullying Through the Arts program in Broward during the school year.
Congratulations to all these students and a special thanks to State Farm, Broward County Sheriff’s Office and The Humanity Project for stepping up and reaching out to our kids – our future!
This is so important Parents for you to be aware of. It’s not just drugs that your teens are getting a hold of on the outside market, you may be the supplier of the most dangerous drugs your teens are using. Please read this and pass it along to every parent you know. Don’t assume your kids aren’t doing them. Be sure to watch the video too.
Inhalants. They have been in the news and on the teen scene for years now; as a matter of fact, it was reported that there has been a 158% increase in the use of huffing refrigerant in teenagers.
Most parents will continue to say, ‘not my teen‘, however how do you really know it isn’t your teen?
Just ask Mona Casey in Coral Springs, she lost her son 15 year-old Charles Gray just before his 16th birthday, when he inhaled refrigerant. Especially in Florida, air conditioning refrigerant is prevalent, it is also deadly. Watch video to see how dangerous it can be.
Throughout her grief, Mona Casey founded a group, United Parents to Restrict Open Access to Refrigerant, (UPROAR). Huffing chemicals such as refrigerant can result in death on the first use. This is a risk we cannot afford to take with our children. One of the goals of UPROAR is to propose solutions to lawmakers and governing bodies to address this problem.
What is inhalant use?
Inhalant use refers to the intentional breathing of gas or vapors with the purpose of reaching a high. Inhalants are legal, everyday products which have a useful purpose, but can be misused. You’re probably familiar with many of these substances — paint, glue and others. But you probably don’t know that there are more than 1,000 products that are very dangerous when inhaled — things like typewriter correction fluid, air-conditioning refrigerant, felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, butane and even cooking spray. See Products Abused as Inhalants for more details.
It is time parents stop being ignorant to the fact teens and tweens don’t understand the dangers of huffing. Kids as young as 11 years-old are huffing and dying. Watch video.
Talk to your kids today! School will be opening, peer pressure will be starting, school hallways are full of kids trying to fit in and be cool. Will they take it a step further fit in with a sniff?
This is such a tough time for parents, even if you understand what is going on, it can be heartbreaking.
Usually around 12-15 years old depending on the teen, he or she will start pulling away from parents, this is a normal, healthy stage in adolescent development. The teen will pull away from parents as he or she attempts to develop their own identity. It is a natural process for the preparation of leaving the nest.
I remember my oldest daughter and I were very close, we spend a lot of time together, and we talked about everything. When she was 13 years old, she started spending more time in her bedroom on the phone, more time with friends and most all communication was off with me. I used to go open her bedroom door and say “have you seen my daughter Amber anywhere? She would just say “Mom”, and roll her eyes, and I would laugh and say “if you see her tell her hi” and I would shut the door.
I didn’t try to make her talk to me, or make her hang out with me, and I tried not to take it personally, although I missed her terribly. I remember she started coming back to me about 10 months to a year later.
The more you communicate with your kids when they are younger, the easier these times will be. The pulling away won’t be as extreme, and it might not last as long. If you wait until your child is 12 years old to start communicating with them, I can almost guarantee they are not going to want to talk to you much at all.
You also want to make sure that this is just normal pulling away, not something more. If pulling away is accompanied with yelling, anger, tantrums, erratic moodiness, hostility, and depression, bad grades, and isolation even with friends, there is probably something bigger going on.
Here are some quick tips to make those times easier:
• Don’t take it personally, have fun with it.
• Try talking to your teen about the things he or she is interested in.
• Do family thing on the weekday nights, better chance of participation.
• Understand that this is a time when they need more space, more time with friends and a bit more freedom.
• Pay attention and make sure it’s not something more serious.
• Let them know you understand that it is okay, and that you are available if they need you.
Remember that they come back to you, so try not to pressure them to much during this time so they don’t shut down and never want to come back. That is the good new this is temporary.
I would love to hear how you are handling this issue with your teen.
