2. Enter e-mail for daily updates:
Like it or not, talking the talk is necessary to keep your kids safe in our increasingly complex world. Today, PPLM Parent Education Program Manager Amy Cody recommends Dr. Sharon Maxwell’s The Talk: What Your Kids Need to Hear from You About Sex as a helpful new resource to ready you for these conversations. Read on for Amy's review, as well as to learn how to be one of five winners to receive a copy of The Talk!
Few things characterize the tween/teen years like puberty; or more specifically, who has hit it, and who hasn’t. And if you were in the same boat as me and my peers back in the day, your parents didn't prep you for what to expect and when. Today, PPLM Parent Education Program Manager Amy Cody offers tips to help you talk to your kids about puberty:
Today, Kate takes us on a walk down memory lane…with Judy Blume.
For girls of a certain generation - mine, and those directly before and after - the experience of reading the novels of Judy Blume was a double-layered rite of adolescent passage: the books themselves were sacred texts, and the universal stories they told - of being teased, of being not the prettiest, of being kissed, of having your parents split up, of loving and being loved, and of losing (love, virginity, friendship, your lunch in public) - were the stories we were all living, vividly and in real time and with an empathy that our parents couldn't come close to.
We received word about the Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, which recently launched a new website offering resources for parents of adolescents with panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. The center offers cognitive behavioral therapy treatment (i.e., no medication) with free treatment for qualifying families. I’m grateful to guest contributor Amy Cody, who canvassed some colleagues for feedback about the clinic. Here’s what they had to say:
Today, PPLM Parent Education Program Manager Amy Cody recommends this resource for parents and youth:
“AmberMadison.tv is a unique Web-based video channel informing young adults about sexual health and sexuality in a safe and interactive environment. Amber Madison, author of Hooking Up: A Girl's All-Out Guide to Sex And Sexuality, delivers accurate information through her own humor and real-life perspectives to teens and young adults who are curious about sex, relationships, health, and overall well-being. The programming covers sexual health topics including body image, pregnancy, relationships, sexual assault, sexual orientation, and STDs.”
Are you the parent of a young daughter and are dreading - or already are deeply entrenched in - arguments over questionable clothing choices? Today, PPLM Parent Education Program Manager Amy Cody addresses the question “What to do when your pre-teen daughter wants to wear makeup and skimpy clothing?” Amy offers general guidelines and links to additional resources for strategies and talking points on this tough topic:
Today, Sharon reports on safe driving techniques that families (especially those with new drivers) could benefit from:
“In late September I traveled via Boston Mamas to the GM Proving Grounds in Michigan to test out the GM 2008 lineup. This was a new trail blazed for this road warrior (who fancies sneakers over wheels), but I discovered parallels between the two transport modes; that a little knowledge goes a long way in taking advantage of safety features.
Continue reading "Re-Inventing the Wheel: Putting Safety First" »
Being a parent often means being at a loss for words when it comes to tough topics, no matter what your kid’s age is. For parents of teens, Amy Cody sent us a great article written by one of her interns; the content offers parents advice for how to navigate the rocky adolescent communication road:
As an adolescent, my parents never discussed anything human body-related; I subsequently got all of my (somewhat sketchy) information about sex, periods, etc. from my older siblings and friends. I’m thus determined to keep the communication channels open with Laurel (and she’s already been testing me here…). Today, Amy Cody offers ideas to help frame your conversations about sex and sexuality with your child:
As a daily blogger who’s long been technically savvy (I learned to build web pages when HTML was the only way to do it), it may seem surprising that as of a year ago, I barely was aware of blogs, and that I currently intentionally keep texting, IMing, and Skype off my radar (it’s a preventative thing, given how much time I already spend with my laptop). As a parent though, keeping up with the technological times is as much a safety necessity as a means to try to keep communication channels open. If the lingo seems overwhelming, Anastasia Goodstein’s Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online
These days, it seems as if events oddly align as a directive for my writing. And as much as it makes this mama bear bristle, two recent events pointed me on the trajectory of child safety.
The first event involved chatting with a friend about her daughter’s three-year well visit. Towards the end of the visit the doctor told the three-year old that it was time to check the areas of the body under the underwear to make sure that they were healthy, and that it is OK for a doctor to do this if mommy or daddy are in the room. Not surprisingly, my friend couldn’t help but think, “Crap, it’s already time to start talking about this stuff?”
My mom and I never discussed menstruation (or anything related to sexuality, short of a discussion well into my 20’s where she advised me to beware, that “men have urges”), and that phase of life vividly stands out as one of anxiety (I was a late bloomer), cluelessness (I had but brief, periodic perusals of my pal Kate’s Our Bodies, Ourselves
The Dot Girl’s First Period Kit was designed to try to curb these all too frequent female experiences. The pink or blue carry kit ($18) includes a 12-page booklet with answers to common questions about periods, a yearlong calendar to track periods, a small reusable heating pad for soothing cramps, pad and liner samples, and hand wipes. (The case is just a bit too small for standard length tampons, but compact tampons would fit fine.)
Earlier this week my ears perked up when NPR’s feature on college preparation, stress, and teens aired. Obviously, this phase of Laurel’s life is many years off (assuming she opts for college instead of a painting commune) but even now, as I see her and her little friends becoming more complex little people, I alternatively feel joyful and anxious about the years to come. I so want Laurel to be peaceful and happy and confident but times as a teen are invariably tough.
NPR’s feature, the catalyst of which was a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on the negative impact of stress and pressure on teens, focused on the stress associated with the college application process. At the end of the broadcast I was interested to hear that the AAP devised a new web site where teens could design personalized stress-reduction plans.
Hip Baby Stationery & Announcements
