Posted by admin on July 3rd, 2009 in Communication, Hot Topics, Teen Age Girls
I’m a hugger more than a kisser so I didn’t pay attention to this trend as much as maybe other people did. Now that it’s been written about and discussed, I guess I would have to agree that hugging is much more common with this generation of kids. And, by the way, does this increase effect teen-age boys as much teen-age girls? My son isn’t old enough (yet) for me to see the trend with boys. Will he start hugging when he gets in high school? I don’t know. At first, I thought it was a California thing to do….all the hugging was just left over “California summer of love” stuff. Evidently not.
When did I first notice it? Hard to say. Mainly because it’s pretty common for teen girls to hug their friends hello, good-bye, when they are excited, when they are sad and well…anytime. Maybe I first noticed it when my daughter had a mixed group of friends over (when they were 14 or so) and when saying good-bye, she hugged both the girls AND the boys. THAT surprised me. I operated on the theory you only hugged guys you liked or were dating and I knew that wasn’t the case. First sign that I was clueless. Continue reading this post…
Posted by admin on July 1st, 2009 in Health, Sleep, Stress
Recently my thoughts turn to a local mother who buried her 17 year-old son who committed suicide. I cannot 
imagine the unbearable pain and anguish. Does living in the “bubble” of Silicon Valley infect our teenagers with such intense stress that the only way to get relief is to end their life? What role do parents play in our teenager’s stress levels?
The” incident” occurred about 8:20 a.m. Tuesday after a northbound commute train hit the teen, who was on the tracks between lowered crossing gates. “We’ve got another suicide,” said the train-intercom announcement, who passed the word to passengers. The train immediately applied full brakes and stopped, a passenger said. Too many people had to witness the awful spectacle. I’m sure there have been many lost nights of sleep these last few weeks.
In an e-mail message to Gunn High School parents, School Superintendent Skelly said: “As parents and guardians, we are naturally deeply affected by this type of event. It reminds us how important it is for us, collectively, to redouble our efforts to look out for our young people as they navigate their way into adulthood.” I wonder…what role does stress play in these suicides? Continue reading this post…
Posted by admin on June 29th, 2009 in Dating
In this new age of dating with the full integration of technology; I’ve been thinking about how girls (and boys) 
can and should handle break-ups. Teens so fully integrate their social life with their technology it begs the question what to do when things break off or turn ugly?
What’s the digital protocol for keeping your ex “around” when you break up? He may be out of your teen’s life, but still in their cell phone with a special ringtone, a sweet picture that comes up when he calls — or on their Facebook page, even if he’s not making comments. Does your teen delete from him from their phone, and de-friend him completely? Even though they may not attend the same school, their presence in their digital lives can still linger and needs to be changed (for the most part) if they are to move on in a healthy way. Continue reading this post…
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