Talking with Kids About Tough Issues is a national public service campaign designed to alert parents and other caring adults to the importance of talking with children early and often about some of today’s most difficult issues. The campaign offers a free booklet (available in English and Spanish) with common sense help for parents in discussing sex and sexuality, AIDS, drugs and alcohol, and violence with children in an age appropriate way. The parent booklet was developed with input from a wide variety of experts including developmental and child psychologists and is available by calling 1-800-CHILD-44.

Parents Help Tweens Stay Away from Tobacco

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Those who smoke are at great risk of developing several types of cancer, heart disease, and chronic respiratory diseases. The survival rate for all these diseases is generally poor. Together these three causes make up 58% of the total deaths in the United States each year.

The majority of daily smokers (82%) began smoking before 18 years of age and more than 3,000 young persons begin smoking each day. For most individuals, initial experimentation and the subsequent development of regular patterns of smoking typically develop during adolescence.

Everyone can play a part in helping teens avoid using tobacco products. Here are a few suggestions for parents to help their children stay or become "smoke free."

What You Need to Know about Tweens and Internet Usage

When you were young, wouldn’t it have been wonderful to have an encyclopedia as close as a button? Or have access to information from all over the world? Well, that’s exactly what our tweens have with their access to the Internet-with many of them having it in the comfort of their home.

While there are certainly positive aspects of this feature, there are an equal number of risks involved in tweens using the Internet. As a parent you need to be aware and shoulder the responsibility when your tween becomes involved with the Internet and especially links up to chat rooms.

Here are some suggestions to safeguard your tween’s Internet use.

1. Make sure your tween knows not to give out personal information. This includes name, age, e-mail address, address, school they attend. Teach them to protect their (and your) privacy.
2. Know the sites your tween is visiting. There are many easily found sites that contain sexual, violent, and hateful information.
3. A tween armed with a credit card can do some major damage. Do not allow your tween to make any purchases without your permission. Then make sure it is being done on a secure site.
4. It’s a good idea to make a behavior contract with your tween. This makes the rules clear to everyone.
5. If you find out that someone has sent an obscene message, report it to your Internet provider.
6. Find out what your tween’s favorite search engine is and then check out what that engine’s filtering capabilities are. Many Internet companies are becoming savvy to the need for on-line safety, especially where youth is involved

Junior High Dating Lingo

They say

means

"like"him or her and it

they are interested in that person.

 

They say

means

"she is hot or he is hot" and it

they are attracted to that person.

 

They say

means

"ask him/her out" and it

they are going to ask a friend to ask him or her out for them (test the waters).

 

They say

means

"going out" and it

they are a couple and are going somewhere together (or maybe nowhere) but usually in a group.