EmpoweringParents.com

Last week, the story of 17 teen-age girls in Gloucester, Massachusetts who agreed to a “pregnancy pact” made international headlines. Whether the pact is truth or fiction (some are now saying no such promise was ever made) the fact remains that seventeen teen-agers who are all 16 years of age or less are about to become parents, and that these young girls saw pregnancy as the only answer to the question of what they were going to do with the rest of their lives.

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Have you ever been in a situation in public where your ADHD child continues to annoy others (or you) with their inappropriate behavior, even though you’ve given them every cue that they should stop? A recent study* conducted by The University of Western Australia found that ADHD boys had a hard time correctly identifying the emotions of facial expressions in drawings they were shown.

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Recently, meditation has been featured in Newsweek as a way to help kids to calm down and focus.

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Could Red Bull and Amp be behind some of your teen’s behavior? A new study from Kathleen Miller at the University of Buffalo links energy drinks to risky behavior, including substance abuse, unprotected sex, and violence. Miller was careful to point out that the drinks don’t cause the bad behavior, but that teens and ‘tweens who consume them are “more likely to take risks with their health and safety.” (The study, by the way, focused on teen athletes, energy drinks, and risky behavior. Her team coined the phrase “Toxic Jock” during the course of their research, which was reported in the Journal of American College Health.)

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Has anyone out there ever sent their teen to a boot camp, and if so, was it a good experience for your child? I’ve heard good and bad things over the years, myself. My friend’s son had a great experience at wilderness camp, and really turned his life around. Another friend’s teen-age son also had an incredible experience at a similar type of camp, but in his case the life-changing part only lasted about 2 weeks, according to my friend, when he reverted to his old ways once home. So far I haven’t personally known anyone who has been injured or hurt at camp, but I’m curious to hear if any of you have. Read more »

Grand Theft Auto IV is now on store shelves–until it sells out, that is. The wildly popular video game series, which takes the gamer on a rampage of car theft, murder and brutal beatings across a NYC-like landscape, is predicted by many to break all sales records.

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From the “Weird New Ways to Bully” file: In the news this past week, there have been stories about kids bullying classmates who are allergic to peanut butter. They’re hiding the offending food in lunch boxes or in the lockers of children who are known to have the dreaded allergy. Now, an eighth grader in Kentucky has been charged with a felony for crumbling up peanut butter cookies and putting the potentially lethal substance into the lunch box of a classmate. (Luckily, the classmate did not suffer a reaction.) Believe it or not, for some people even trace amounts of peanut oil can cause a severe reaction or even death: as in the case of the 13-year-old Australian boy who died last month when he came into contact with peanuts at a school camp.

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If you hear your kids talking about “420″ (pronounced “four-twenty”) prick up your ears–they may be referring to the annual pot-smoking “holiday” on April 20th.

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A group of third-graders—kids ages 8-10—were caught plotting to attack and kill their elementary school teacher. They even had assigned roles—one child was going to blacken the windows of the classroom, and another was going to clean up afterward. The nine boys and girls in the learning disabilities class (kids in the class have ADHD, ADD and developmental delays) were organized enough to bring knives, a paperweight, handcuffs and duct tape. The plan was to knock her unconscious with the paperweight and then stab her. The reason why they were going to attack her? She’d scolded a girl for standing on a chair in the classroom. The teacher of the class, Miss Belle Carter, said that they were “good kids” and couldn’t believe they were planning to attack her.

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The earlier you can diagnose ADHD, the better. Kids often struggle in school and in the community due to a lack of help and from a misunderstanding of their condition. This often leads to frustration, increased inappropriate behavior, poor academic achievement, and eventually low self-esteem and depression, not to mention an increased likelihood for substance abuse. Early and appropriate intervention can prevent these serious consequences, and instead promote healthy development with the prospects for a more satisfying life in childhood and as an adult. If you suspect that your child may have ADHD, start with a trip to a trusted pediatrician and go from there.

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