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Social Media Causing Anxiety in Teens
Sixteen-year-old Katie got an unexpected phone call from her boyfriend (they usually text). He wanted to break up, at least until the end of the school year, he told her, so he could “focus on sports.” As soon as Katie tearfully said goodbye, she already had a barrage of texts coming in. Her boyfriend, now ex, had already changed his status on Facebook from “in a relationship” to “single” with a few comments about fun times ahead in the single life and cyber high-fives from buddies. Katie didn’t have time to react before she was receiving Facebook messages, comments to her wall, and Twitter comments and direct messages asking about the break-up – one she had no idea was even coming. Everyone seemed to know about her boyfriend’s decision before she did – people online she didn’t even know – making her breakup all the more humiliating.
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Why Parents Should Discuss the Risk of Drinking With Their Kids
Underage drinking is certainly nothing new, but recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are cause for alarm. Of particular concern is the fact that the age of drinking onset is getting lower and lower while the amount of alcohol consumed seems to be getting higher and higher.
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Underage Kids Finding it Easy to Buy Alcohol Online
Unfortunately, your teen may not only be meeting and exchanging news with friends when he/she visits online social media sites. While there, they may also very likely be viewing trendy advertising for major alcohol brands. Worse yet, many of these brands are advertising the option to purchase alcohol over the Internet and underage teens are taking advantage of the opportunity.
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The High Price of Teen Drinking
Springtime is, among other things, prom time. It is a time when teenagers like to up and too frequently, view the evening as an opportunity to act in ways that they perceive as grown up.
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MADD Poll Shows Parents Believe Their Kids Don’t Want Alcohol
Texas parents tell a MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, survey that their children aren’t interested in alcohol. Eighty-five percent of parents from Texas believe this of their children, according to a recent article.
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Report Says 25 Percent of Teen Drinkers Get Alcohol From Family
While a lot has changed in the last two decades, alcohol consumption among our teenagers has not, according to Jan Withers, President of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Alcohol still is the most dangerous thing our kids consume and kills more children than all illicit drugs combined, said MADD at a recent Washington D.C. press conference.
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Opposite-Sex Parent Plays Significant Role in Alcohol-Related Decisions
College students are often experiencing life with a new level of independence, and decisions about alcohol consumption are sometimes among the first opportunities to exercise their freedom. While some parents may consider college-age drinking a rite of passage, others want to partner with their kids to help them make good decisions.
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Parents Play Important Role in Preventing Teen Binge Drinking
A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has shown that parents who are present and engaged with their children play an important role in preventing their teens from binge drinking. Teens who smoke, stay out late with their friends, and have access to alcohol are at a greater risk of becoming binge drinkers in their late teens.
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Family Dinners Can Help Prevent Substance Abuse
It is easy to assume that the traditional family meal in the evening has been set aside for busy schedules, soccer games and after school activities. While busy families still want to be involved, it may be a good idea to see how this involvement interferes with family meal time.
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Drinking Behaviors of College-Age Adults
Parents expect that their children will have many new experiences when they leave for college, reflecting their newfound independence and freedom from rules at home. Among those new experiences are social settings where alcohol is present and drinking is encouraged by fellow students.
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