The U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory that social media is hurting our nation’s children. Social media causes teens to lose sleep, withdraw from face-to-face interactions, spend too much time staring at screens, and engage with content that is making them anxious and depressed. Unfortunately, 95% of teens between 13 and 17 have a smartphone, so there’s a general feeling among parents
Read moreNationwide, there has been a significant and steady drop in college enrollment. Consider these statistics: In addition, with the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action, there is likely to be further reduction in black and brown students applying to colleges. In this article, we will be exploring why college enrollment is declining, what impact the decline has on
Read moreIf you ask parents what they want most for their children, the majority will answer, “I want them to be happy.” But that’s hard to define. Happiness is an emotion, a momentary state of being, not a permanent state. Additionally, happiness can mean different things to different people. If we, as parents, have a goal to raise our kids to
Read moreDeveloping a child’s sense of responsibility is one of the most important skills parents need to instill, and the tween years are the perfect time to start! When you teach your children to take responsibility for their tasks, decisions and actions, you help them develop into conscientious human beings who know how to be successful as an adult. Of course,
Read moreAdolescent culture has embraced sexting – the term for sending sexually explicit messages, photos, or videos via any digital device. It can include nudity, suggestive messages, or content simulating sex acts. Parents might feel that sexting is risky, dangerous and illegal, but for teenagers, consensual sexting is often fun and sexy. They might perceive sexting as part of flirting, building
Read moreWe all know that adolescents face an extraordinary amount of peer pressure, and unfortunately, when humans are under pressure, we don’t always make the best decisions. Despite our intelligence, we are not great at considering all of the consequences of our decisions while people are staring at us waiting for our decision. This is true of adults, but it’s even
Read moreLeadership is a valuable skill set to have, especially in adulthood. Employers are always looking for good leaders, and even if a person is not in a leadership role in their workplace, leadership skills are still helpful at home or in the community. While some people are more natural leaders than others, leadership skills can be learned, developed and improved.
Read moreSummer is fast approaching and many families are wondering the best use of the school break. Should teens have time to just relax and be free from responsibilities? Should they be working on academics that they found difficult during the school year? Should they be obtaining experiences to develop their resume? There are so many choices that it is hard
Read moreThe cultural perception of marijuana is that it is medicinal, natural, and not dangerous. Most consider it less addictive than many other illicit drugs and unlikely to create substantial impairment or behavior changes. These stereotypes likely have become more entrenched as many states legalize marijuana. While some of that is true, teen marijuana use has radically transformed in the decades
Read moreThe number of young adults in the United States who are living with a parent has increased significantly over the past couple of decades. In July 2022, half of adults ages 18 to 29 were living with one or both of their parents. While this was slightly lower than a recent peak in 2020 as a result of the pandemic,
Read moreOur nation faces a provider shortage in the mental health field at the exact same time that our nation’s youth are suffering from an epidemic of mental health illnesses. The CDC says that 80% of youth who need treatment have no access to a specialized mental health provider. Additionally, it takes years for people to qualify as mental health counselors,
Read moreA study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in March 2023 discovered that the mortality rate for children and teens in the United States surged in 2020 and 2021. Pediatric deaths increased nearly 11% in 2020 and more than 8% in 2021, which were the largest upticks in decades. The increased rate was primarily from fatal injuries
Read moreOver the last 10 years, the number of annual teen deaths from drug overdoses more than doubled. The increase is not coming from more teens using drugs, but rather from drug use becoming more dangerous. In 2021, fentanyl was involved in more than 77% of adolescent overdose deaths. In addition, the Office of National Drug Control Policy just declared an
Read moreNew research, published last month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, demonstrates that potentially toxic chemicals found in everyday products are altering the hormonal and metabolic pathways needed for human growth and development in teens. What are “forever chemicals”? Researchers analyzed study samples from young children, teens and young adults, all of whom had a mixture of different synthetic compounds
Read moreAccording to the American Osteopathic Association, hearing loss in teens has risen by 30 percent since the 1990s, with 1 in 5 teens having some form of hearing loss. It’s important to know that the number one cause of hearing loss is noise, not age. Unfortunately, hearing loss due to excessive sound exposure is permanent, and there is no cure for
Read moreTeenagers and risk seem to go hand in hand. As teens walk the path of becoming independent adults, exploring their limits and abilities is part of developing their identities. Risk-taking is an important way for teenagers to learn about themselves. It peaks at around 15-16 years and tends to tail off by early adulthood. While it’s very stressful for parents,
Read moreTeens with self-advocacy skills are more likely to have higher self-esteem, a positive sense of identity, greater social connections, more leadership qualities and enhanced problem solving abilities. Self-advocacy is an individual’s ability to effectively communicate, negotiate or assert his or her own interests, desires, needs and rights. Self-advocacy can be used in many ways, for example a student with learning
Read moreMore than a million kids ages 5 to 14 are injured each year in sports and require a trip to the emergency room, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Football has the highest incidence of injury, followed by basketball. Along with sports, the agency also reports significant injuries from things like playground equipment and skateboards. While high contact
Read moreRecently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of their Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a bi-annual survey that measures adolescent health and well-being. Collected in fall 2021, the survey responses from 17,232 U.S. high school students showed that most of the indicators for teen well-being worsened significantly from past years. The survey showed that experiences of
Read moreLast week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of their Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey, which has been conducted every other year for three decades, includes responses from 17,232 U.S. high school students and measures adolescent health and well-being. Collected in fall 2021, these survey responses represent the first data collected by CDC since
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