WAKE UP: Holidays are here, Secure your Prescriptions before Welcoming Guests

Tis the season of giving, but as you invite family and friends into your home for holiday festivities, beware – for some, it is also the season for taking. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, most teens initially get prescription pills from family and friends, including straight from home medicine cabinets.  And it’s not just teens.  

Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in the United States. Deaths from prescription drug overdoses have become the second leading cause of accidental deaths nationwide, and the leading cause in as many as 15 states.

“Prescription pill abusers are no different than those that are addicted to illicit drugs like meth or heroin.  They will go to great lengths to get their fix. I can’t stress enough the importance of safeguarding your medications,” says Lora Brown, MD, a Pain Management Physician and Medical Director for WAKE UP!, a community educational campaign created to combat the increase in prescription drug abuse among teenagers.

Brown says that you should always safeguard your medicine, but it’s especially important during the holidays when friends, family, neighbors and sometimes strangers are invited into our homes.  Don’t discuss what medications you are taking with anyone but your medical or mental health team, and keep the medications in a secure place at all times. Often these medications are stolen from medicine cabinets and nightstands. Addicts have been known to break into homes where they suspect they can find meds, as well as assault someone who is in possession of the prescription medication they desire.

About WAKE UP!:

WAKE UP! is a community educational campaign established by The Pain Truth, a Florida 501(c)(3), to combat the increase in prescription drug abuse among teenagers. It is designed to use science, not scare tactics, to educate teenagers of the effects and dangers of prescription drugs. The program uses a school “takeover” approach to reach thousands of students and their families with an extended program designed to teach not preach about the dangers of abusing and misusing prescription drugs. This program is unique in many ways. One of the most important aspects is sustainability through a school-based CORE of students and educators that remain present and active long after the original campaign is complete. 

Follow them on Twitter and use hashtag #WAKEUP

Hating Homework? 10 Ways to Help Make Homework Fun

Do you have a smart child that can pass tests but is failing classes since they don't finish their homework assignments? 

This is very common.

The last thing that kids want to do when they get home from school is homework, and sometimes it can seem near impossible to get them to settle down to study when all they want to do is play and blow off steam. But what if you could make doing homework fun for your kids?

Check out these ways to make the ordeal a little less painful for you and your kids.

1. Start a homework blog – You might as well take advantage of the power of the Internet. Tell the kids that you will record their feelings and ideas about homework on the blog after they get it done. You can decide whether you want to update the blog daily or weekly with new entries. Allow the kids to get creative about entries, but remember to follow proper Internet etiquette.
2. Make it practical – In the early grades it’s fairly simple to make things like math pretty practical by showing the kids how the subject is used in everyday life. For many kids, just making the connection between what they are learning in school and how it applies to real life makes them more interested in their subjects.
3. Teach your kids how to compete internally – The world is full of competition, but not everyone knows how to compete with themselves. If you can teach your child how to compete internally, always trying to do a little better than they did the last time, that self competition can cause your child to want to excel for the sake of excelling. Teaching kids to compete with themselves also helps in warding off peer pressure when they reach their teen years.
4. Rewards – There are pros and cons about giving rewards, but the right kinds of rewards won’t necessarily cause your child to achieve for the wrong reasons. Sometimes just a hug with a few well chosen words is enough. Avoid rewarding your kids with food, especially sweets, as this will set up an unhealthy association between food and rewards for them and can lead to eating problems down the road.
5. Use music as a way to help with learning – Some subjects can be pretty boring, but if you add a tune to some of the things they need to learn, kids will learn the material better and have fun doing it. For example, you can use the “Birthday Song” to memorize the multiplication tables.
6. Turn homework into a game – Create a game to help with homework. Each correct problem is worth a point and the points add up to different levels. Try to get to the highest level to win a token. Tokens can be redeemed for something special. You decide what that is.
7. Help with homework in a positive, proactive manner – Sit down with your child on occasion and help them with the harder homework. Showing your interested in their work can make it more engaging for them. You may not want to do this every time they sit down to do homework, though, because that will take away the novelty of it.
8. Get the kids to read – Believe it or not, one way to make homework more fun is to get your kids to read. If you get them interested in reading and seeking knowledge while they’re young, it will instill in them the desire to continue to learn.
9. Change the location – Just for fun, let the kids do homework in a different place; for example let them do homework outside, if the weather permits, or let them choose a different place to work.
10. Let your kid be the teacher – Have your kids teach you the things they are learning. Have them show you how to solve the problems and ask them questions as if you are the student. This will help them retain the information and understand it better.

With some creativity you can find many ways to make homework fun for your kids. Taking an interest in what they are doing will help immensely. Your participation can cause your kids to be more engaged and more likely to finish their homework and projects.

Source: Nanny.net

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Teens and Smartphones: Is your teenager ready for a Smartphone?

The holidays are here and many tweens and teens are asking for cell phones and Smartphones.  But are they ready for the responsibility of having one?

• Do children really need Smartphones?
• Can Smartphones be beneficial to their learning alongside school?
• Are Smartphones a fashion statement?
• Is it fair if all families cannot afford them?  Peer pressure to those that can’t have them?

Pew Internet tells us 77% of US 12-to-17-year-olds now have cellphones and 23% Smartphones, so if your 12-year-old tells you “everybody has a cellphone,” s/he’s less and less far off the mark. But when to get a kid his or her first cellphone is very individual too, based on how s/he handles technology, people, and responsibility!

Cons: Smartphones can be used to bully other children through advanced messaging features which are available on smartphones and also apps which can be downloaded.
Pros:  Parents can track their child to make sure they are safe while they are out playing with friends or going to school.

An excellent article was recently written: Five things to do before giving your teenager a Smartphone – definitely worth the time to read if you are considering purchasing a phone for your child this holiday season.

Cellphone Safety Tips from Connect Safely:

Cellphones are increasingly full-blown handheld computers, and everything that can be done on the Web via computer – photo-sharing, Web browsing, game playing, tune-swapping, real-time text chat, and (oh yeah) talking – can be done on a phone. Here are some basic ideas for keeping mobile phone use safe and constructive: 

Smart socializing. Use the same good sense about what you post from your phone as from a computer. Once they’re posted, text, photos, and video are tough to take back, can be copied and pasted elsewhere, and are up there pretty much forever. Think about the people in them (including you!). Reputations are at stake – even more so if racy photos are involved. Just best not to go there.
Phones are personal. Letting other people use your phone when you’re not around is like letting them have the password to your social network profile. They can impersonate you. Which means they can play tricks on you that could really become a problem. It’s a very good idea to lock your phone when you’re not using it.
Bullying by phone. Because people socialize on cellphones as much as online, cyberbullying can be mobile too. Treat people on phones and the Web the way you would in person, and the risk of being bullied goes down. Be aware, too, of people randomly taking pictures at parties, in locker rooms, etc. – you may not want to be tagged in their social-network photo albums!
Sexting: The vast majority of kids – 99% – are smart and don’t take, send, or post or even store nude photos of themselves or peers on their phones. People who do so can be charged with production, distribution, or possession of child pornography, a serious crime. They can also be subjected to jokes, bullying, blackmail, expulsion from school, loss of a job, etc. and the images can circulate forever. Just don’t go there.
The value of “presence.” If you do a lot of texting, consider the impact that being “elsewhere” might be having on the people around you. Your presence during meals, at parties, in the car, etc. is not only polite, it’s a sign of respect and appreciated.
Down time is good. Constant texting and talking can affect sleep, concentration, school, and other things that deserve your thought and focus. You need your sleep and real friends understand there are times you just need to turn off the phone – harassment can happen between midnight and morning too.
Social mapping. Most cellphones now have GPS technology and there are a growing number of services that allow friends to pinpoint each other’s physical location. If you use such a service, do so only with friends you know in person, and get to know the service’s privacy features!
No texting while driving! Research shows that texting while driving can significantly increase the risk of a crash or near-crash situation. Silence your phone in the car, pull over if you need to use it, and of course follow your state’s hands-free laws for mobile phones in cars.

Community Empowerment Series (CES)

Education is knowledge and power that help us to keep our kids safe.

St. Johns County, Duval, Clay, Putnam, Nassau and Flagler all welcome three renown experts to World Golf Village.

Presented by St. Johns County Education Foundation and Communities in Schools, The Community Empowerment Series will cover topics that parents, educators and everyone that are involved in today's youth are concerned about.

View slideshow: Three Celebrity Experts Coming to Our Area!

• Sexual predators, and how to talk to your kids about private parts and stranger danger.
• The social jungle that kids are facing today. From peer pressure to bullying and cyberbullying.
• Importance of digital safety and the critical topic of teaching our kids and especially teens today about how to protect themselves from identity theft.

For these three topics we have brought in the country's leading experts. You may have seen them on your TV and also read their books!

Session one: Stacey Honowitz, who has served twenty years in the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit of the State Attorney’s Office, will be speaking about sex crimes in Florida and the sentences that they carry. She will also be addressing how to talk to your young kids about private parts.

Session two: Dr. Michele Borba is one of the most popular parenting experts in our country and the bullying prevention expert. She will have a workshop on the Social Jungle our kids are dealing with today, from peer pressure to bullying. Her speaking topics will include friends, cliques, relational aggression, cyberbullies, bullies and peer pressure. Watch the video on the sidebar.

Session three: Theresa Payton will discuss the importance of digital safety, identity theft with kids, and technology in today’s world as it concerns our children. There will also be deep discussion on how to create, maintain and protect a healthy digital identity for all family members, adults and children alike.

All three of these speakers are nationally recognized in their field and have been on many media outlets. We are honored they are coming to our community to help empower us with knowledge to keep our kids safe and our families educated in a society that is ever changing.

Tickets are free and limited to the first 300.
If you are a business or individual that would like to sponsor or be a vendor at these events, please visit our "Getting Involved" page. There are opportunities for everyone!

Don't miss these exciting educational and fun events! 

Visit www.communityempowermentseries.com for more information on the dates, times and all the details!

Pass this on to your friends, family, and neighbors!

It Your Teen Ready to Babysit?

Babysitting is a time-honored tradition among teenagers looking for a way to earn some extra money while selecting their own schedules, rather than being forced to adhere to one made each week by a manager.

If your teen has recently approached you with a desire to begin her career as a babysitter, there are some things you’ll need to take into consideration when determining whether she’s mature and responsible enough to be charged with the very important task of caring for dependent children.
Before giving your teen the green light to start searching for babysitting clients, you should consider the following points.

• How Much Experience Does She Have? – If you have younger children that your teenager has been in charge of caring for, how did she handle that responsibility? In the case of only children, it’s important to consider any prior experience she’s had with children; if her contact with little ones has been limited, it might be wise to help her spend some time in a supervised childcare setting, such as volunteering in the nursery of your place of worship, before allowing her to strike out on her own.
• Has She Been CPR and First Aid Certified? – Regardless of age and experience level, any childcare provider will need to obtain CPR and first aid certification in order to be as prepared as possible in the event of an emergency. While these certifications aren’t required by law, most parents will not consider your teen mature enough or competent enough to care for their children without them.
• What are the Laws in Your Area? – State and local laws regarding the age requirements of a babysitter and restrictions on the number of children that a teenager can legally be responsible for can vary significantly from one location to another. Be sure that your teen is old enough to be legally eligible to act as a childcare provider before granting your permission to look for clients.
• Does She Understand the Dangers of Food Allergies? – Severe food allergies have the very real potential of causing death if a child is exposed to something he’s allergic to, meaning your teen needs to have a clear and realistic understanding of food allergies and sensitivities and how dangerous they can be.
• Is She Able to Care for a Child with Special Needs? – Before your teen accepts a job caring for a child with special needs, it’s important for you to evaluate her ability to do so competently, and you should discuss the matter with her thoroughly to determine whether or not she’s up to the task of providing top-notch care for a special needs kid.
• Is She Usually Punctual and Dependable? – A teen that’s dependable and makes an effort to be on time in other areas of her life will likely extend those character traits to her new career as a babysitter, just as those who are less dependable may begin to slack off in time.
• Does She Have any Marked Behavioral Problems? – Putting a troubled teen in charge of children in a situation with no adult supervision is just asking for trouble, so it’s important that you’re honest with yourself about her behavior before allowing her to do so. Breaking house rules on the job can put your child and her charges in danger, and is a strong possibility if she has a history of behavioral issues or acting out.
• How Developed are Her Time Management Skills? – Taking on a job, even an irregularly scheduled one, can interfere with your teen’s academic performance and extracurricular activities if she’s still developing her time management skills. Kids that struggle to maintain their current schedules may not be mature enough to add more responsibilities to it.
• Does She Know Her Way Around the Kitchen? – Part of caring for children is feeding them, something your teen may not be mature or experienced enough to do if she’s not familiar with basic meal preparation. Taking the time to work with your daughter to develop these skills will serve her well in the future, as well as helping her to overcome an obstacle on the path to employment, so consider a brief round of lessons in kitchen basics and safety before sending her on her first babysitting assignment.
• Trust Your Instincts – In the end, no one knows your child and her abilities as well as you do. Even if she’s dependable, reasonably experienced in the kitchen, and CPR certified, you may still have the nagging feeling that she simply isn’t ready for the huge responsibility of keeping a child safe. In such cases, it’s imperative that you trust your instincts.

Many community centers offer babysitting classes for interested teenagers, which can be an informative and exciting way for your child to hone her skills and obtain the training she needs to be a more prepared, experienced sitter. Consider enrolling her in one of these courses if she’s beginning to express an interest in babysitting in order to make the transition from unemployed teen to seasoned sitter easier for her.

Source: Find a Babysitter

The American Red Cross offers a Babysitting Workshop for Teens. Check the local office for times and locations.

Is Your Child Old Enough To Stay Home Alone?

With more and more households becoming two income households, the number of latchkey kids, or kids who are left home alone for a part of each day, is also steadily growing. According to NBC’s Today Show there are over 3 million children who are latch key kids today.

But before you decide to let your own child be a latch key kid, it’s important to evaluate if your child is ready for that responsibility. How do you know if your kids are old enough or responsible enough to stay home alone?

Here are some rules and guidelines that can help you make your decision:

Laws
Surprisingly, there are few laws or regulations on the books regarding what age a child can be legally left alone. Check out latchkey-kids.com to see if the state you live in has any age restrictions in place. According to CARE (Call Reassurance), law makers are considering adding regulations to the law books due to the increase in latchkey kids.

You can also contact CPS (Child Protective Services) in your area to find out what they recommend.

Guidelines
According to Safe Kids USA, children should be developmentally mature enough to stay alone around age 12 or 13. Since children develop at different rates, however, your child may be different. If your child is a dare devil, has impulse control issues, or doesn’t like following the rules, you may want to hold off leaving him alone until he’s older. On the other hand, if your 11 year old is very responsible and follows the rules well, he may be ready and capable of being a latch key kid. As a parent you will need to evaluate your child to determine if he is ready.

Lynn Yaney, a child welfare professional in California, has said that children under the age of 7 do not possess the ability to logically consider cause and effect, so they should not be left alone. Kids ages 7 to 10 are not considered ready to stay alone for an extended period of time because they need supervision to structure their day. However, if there is a structured routine in place, these kids could stay alone for a short time, like after school. Kids 11 and older should be considered on a case by case basis, but should not be left alone overnight, per Yaney.

According to WebMD, tweens ages 11 to 12 may be ready to watch their younger siblings for short periods of time. To determine if your tween is ready consider the following questions:

• Is your tween scared about staying alone?
• Do you live in a safe area?
• Does your home have an alarm system?
• Would your tween know what to do in case of an emergency?
• Do you have friends or family close by who could get there quickly?
• Has your tween shown responsible behavior in the past, such as doing chores without being asked or completing homework assignments on time without being nagged?

After considering the answers to the above questions, you might feel ready to make a trial run on leaving your tween home alone. The next thing you should do is set some ground rules.

• Are friends allowed to come over? How many?
• Is it okay to answer the phone?
• Should he answer the door?
• What is okay to eat? Can he use the microwave?
• How long is it okay to watch TV or play on the computer? Guidelines about what can and cannot be watched or played should be covered.

Once you have established some ground rules, make sure that everyone understands what is expected of them. Create a list of phone numbers for your tween just like you would for any babysitter. Here is a suggestion of some numbers to consider:

• 9-1-1 (he may forget in an emergency)
• You and your spouses’ cell phone numbers
• Number for a neighbor or friends
• Poison control
• Police department
• Your family doctor or pediatrician

After you have prepared your tween for what might happen you should do some practicing or role playing. Have a neighbor come over and pretend to be insistent on getting him to open the door. Go over what to do if the fire alarm goes off. Make sure your tween knows where the first aid kit is kept and how to use it. Ask him what he would do if the electricity goes out. You may even wish to enroll your child in a local babysitting course or a course designed for latchkey kids. These courses help develop and hone self-care skills.

After you are comfortable that your tween is ready to be left alone it’s time to try it out. For the first outing, plan to be home about 30 minutes after your tween gets home from school. When you return, find out how it went. Next time you go out, increase the duration to 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure you can be reached on your mobile phone. Keep increasing the time until you have exceeded the amount of time the kids will be left alone on an average day. Create some way for your child to check in with you when he arrives home after school.

Allowing your tween to stay home alone or to watch a younger sibling is scary, but it’s also a part of growing up. Your tween will be learning responsibility and maturity. If all goes well, you might even be able to go out alone with your spouse for dinner.

Source: Aupair Jobs

Community Empowerment Series!

St. Johns County Florida is getting ready for 2013 in a big way!

Starting February 2, 2013 will be a lecture series that will be like no other.

Celebrity speakers on parenting topics that can't be missed.  Limited free tickets.  This event will be held at The World Golf Village Hall of Fame IMAX Theater.

Starting immediately we are accepting sponsors.  You won't want to miss this opportunity!

The levels for individuals start at $100.00 and go as high as $10,000.00 for corporate sponsors.

Please check our site for the benefits of sponsorship levels.

I am personally proud to be part of St. Johns Education Foundation and Communities in Schools for St. Johns County.  Both are excellent organizations that are always putting our kids first.

Click here to visit Community Empowerment Series and visit our renown speakers!

February 2, 2013: Stacey Honowitz
March 9, 2013: Michele Borba
April 27, 2013: Theresa Payton

Does Your Teen Residential Therapy?

You have finally reached your wit's end.  It has come to a point where you have exhausted all your local resources.  The one on one therapy is no longer working, if it ever did.  The fact is, it is a fight to even get your teen to attend a session.  If you do get them to attend - how many times to they actually manipulate the therapist to actually believe there isn't an issue at all...... in some instances the blame can come right back to the parent!

Yes, manipulation of a teen is priceless.  They are the best at what they do.  However now is the time for the parent to be the best at what they are - a parent.

You decided it is time for residential therapy and you jump on the Internet and you start with Google by typing in key words.  Teen help, struggling teens, defiant teens, teen help programs, military schools, reform schools, troubled teens, rebellious teens, etc.

What you will find is a list of marketing arms that are very quick to "sell you a group of programs" rather than discuss what is best for your individual teenager.  I always caution parents to beware of these toll free numbers and marketing arms that you have no clue where you are calling and who is connected to what.

I once was at my wit's end - my story is what prompted me to created an organization to help educate parents about the big business of "teen help".  Take a few minutes to read - "A Parent's True Story" and you will realize that although you absolutely need to get your son or daughter help, you also need to take the time to do your research.

I have listed some "Do's and Don'ts" when searching -  these are some great helpful hints for parents.  This is such a major emotional and financial decision that I encourage to read through my website and learn as much as you can before making a decision.  I firmly believe in residential programs - I just also believe you need to select the right one for your child's needs.

Visit www.helpyourteens.com for more information.