4 Troubled Teens Blog

At a recent forum comprised of law enforcement officials, safe driving organizations, and others, parents were presented with information about new, risky trends of which they may not be aware. Hosted by the Tustin Unified School District and the Assistance League of Tustin, roughly 200 parents attended the forum.

"[Tustin parent Silvana] Difilippo was shocked when officers showed her gadgets that they have confiscated. There was a Pepsi bottle that twists open in the center to hide alcohol in the middle section. To the side was a CD case with a scale to weigh drugs."

Speakers included parents, police officers, sheriff's deputies, and California Highway Patrol officers. Read more at OCRegister.com.

To stay informed about teen trends and for parenting advice, sign up for the Parenting Tips Newsletter. This bi-weekly newsletter offers help for parents of troubled teens. Sign up here.

Labels: risky_behaviors, awareness, trends

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

There was a flurry of activity in the media world a couple of weeks ago when Britney Spears' younger sister Jamie Lynn announced that she was pregnant. At just 16-years-old, Jamie Lynn has become part of a national statistic.

"About 750,000 teens between 15-19 get pregnant each year, and 79 percent of them are unmarried according to a teen pregnancy report by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit sexual and reproductive health research group."

Jamie Lynn has a young fan base of her because of her starring role in the Nickelodeon show "Zoey 101". The concern now is that her pregnancy will make teen motherhood seem "trendy" to her teen and pre-teen fans.

Youth Care, a residential treatment program for troubled teens, offers a program for pregnant girls.

Labels: sex, pregnancy, trends

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

'Tis the Season (or nearly the season) for heavy marketing of all that's "in vogue" in teen fashion, pastimes, and overall trends. The short skirts, low-cut shirts and singers and dolls that make them popular are touted as the main reasons many of our young girls are growing up so fast. But recent research has pointed a finger in a different direction: toward home.

"New research released last week in the journal Child Development found evidence that a family's harmony - how it interacts, addresses conflict and offers support and involvement - correlates with how soon a girl reaches puberty&Girls who hit puberty earlier are more at risk for mood disorders, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and even reproductive cancers as a result of early sexual activity."

The study tracked 227 families and found a marked difference in how soon a girl reached maturity based on parental involvement, stability of resources, and the family's ability to appropriately resolve differences.

If your teenage daughter is heading down the wrong path - either by experimenting with drugs, alcohol, or sex - get her the help she needs at Copper Canyon Academy. Copper Canyon is an all girls school that offers therapy in addition to college prep academics.

Labels: family, maturity, trends

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments