Sue Scheff: Tobacco Free Florida

Unveiled in 2008 under the direction of the Florida Department of Health, the Tobacco Free Florida campaign seeks to decrease the number of tobacco users in the state of Florida through efforts aimed at both preventing nonusers from starting to use tobacco and encouraging current users to quit. These efforts are funded by money derived from court settlements against major tobacco companies, and include executions in the realm of Advertising, Public Relations, Interactive, Guerilla Media, Event Media, Sponsored Promotions and more.

Learn more at http://tobaccofreeflorida.com/ and read more about Florida's Quitline and Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT).  Click here.

Sue Scheff: Teen Teen at Planned Parenthood

 The Teen Time® Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program (Teen Time®) which uses a holistic approach that aims to empower youth. The program helps young people to develop personal goals and the desire for a productive future.

In addition to developing sexual literacy and educating teens about the risks associated with sexual activity, the program also emphasizes the importance of education and employment. Youths start the program at age 11 or 12 and continue past high school. They work with them five days a week, after school, and throughout the summer. There are sites in Belle Glade, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, and Fort Pierce, in areas with high rates of teen pregnancy and low high school graduation rates.


Find out more about Teen Time - click here.

Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.

Sue Scheff: Camp Finders - Choosing the right camp for your teen

There may be a chill in South Florida and around the country, however summer camp time is coming fast! If you will be sending your child or teen to camp, the time is now to start researching your options.

• Are you looking for a sleep away camp?
• Are you looking for day camps?
• Are you looking for teen travel camps?
• Are you looking for specific camps that meet your child's interests such as tennis, golf, skateboarding, fine arts, music, horse back riding, etc.?
• Does your child have special needs and requirements?
• Are you looking for an academic summer program?

There are many options to consider in choosing what is best for your individual child.

You may want to start with the assistance of Camp Finders. Located in Delray Beach, Florida, Rick Mades for over fifteen years, has been helping parents find the best summer programs and camps for their children and teens. He has visited over a hundred sleep away camps throughout our country as well as in Canada, Europe, Australia, Central America, the Caribbean & Virgin Islands, Israel & more. The best part, this is a free service!

If you are considering a summer experience for your child or teen, the time is now to start doing your homework.

Be an educated parent, you will be better prepared which will give you safer and happier teens and children.

Read more on Examiner.

Sue Scheff: Looking for a Summer Job? Inspire youths!

Rick Mades of Camp Finders located in Delray Beach, Florida, created MySummers to give potential applicants an opportunity to learn about summer positions at a variety of summer camps.

Are you seeking a summer job that offers fulfillment working with today's youth?

Since 1999, MySummers has proved to be a great resource for applicants looking to work at a summer camp. Working as a camp counselor is one of the most meaningful summer jobs you will ever have. Campers always remember their counselors, and the impact that each counselor has had on their lives. For future teachers, camp jobs are a great way to gain experience working with and living with children.

At MySummers, you will be registering with one of the top resources in the country for camp directors and for future staff. After registering, you will be contacted directly by e-mail or phone, by interested camp directors. It doesn't get any better! For more information about how this site can work for you, click here.

Here are some great tips for summer camp counselors and summer camp jobs, click here.

If you are interested in working at a summer camp, the time is now to register and get started on finding the right employment for you.

Read and learn more on Examiner.

Sue Scheff: Free Science Games to Excite and Inspire Your Kids

60 Free Science Games to Excite and Inspire Your Kids

By this point, everyone realizes that there need not be any delineation between education and entertainment. Parents and teachers alike can supplement a student’s knowledge of biology, geology, physics, chemistry, and other scientific disciplines with literally hundreds of free games available online through a multitude of sources. The following list compiles 60 of the most popular ones, mostly involving some of the more popular subjects among children.

Click here for the entire list.

Sue Scheff: How to file an FTC Complaint

Have you or your child (especially teens) ever been a victim of a scam? With the increased use of the Internet and websites that seem credible however can be questionable, today people of all ages are prone to stumble across some form of fraud or scam. If you do, it is imperative you share it with the Federal Trade Commission.

People can help stop scams, rip-offs and fraudsters by sharing their experience with the FTC. Be sure to watch the informative video below and find out how to file a complaint.

Each time we speak up, we are potentially protecting another person being attacked by a scam. You may be that person, you may be the one that didn't get scammed since someone else took the time to file a complaint and bring recognition to a scam.

If a business doesn't deliver on their promises, identity theft, you were offered a free service and see a charge on your bank account or credit card, report it to the FTC immediately. Help put a stop to shady business and less than ethical services.

The more you get involved, the safer everyone will be.

Watch the video and read more on Examiner.

Sue Scheff: Fake Pot - Do you know what your teens are smoking?

As parents scramble to keep up with the challenges of raising teens today, they are now thrown another curve ball. Most know that smoking pot, although not legal and seems to becoming more addictive among youths, is a trend that some parents brush under the rug with the justification that "it is only pot."

Recently after speaking with a parent of an at risk teen, she said her therapist actually told her teen it was "okay" to smoke marijuana. Excuse me? This parent was horrified and this only empowered the teen. Obviously they are not returning to that therapist, but how many others feel this way?

Parenting is hard enough, and it is the parent that is the strongest tool in helping our teens to understand the dangers of drug abuse.

Now we have what is being called, K2 - or "Spice," Genie" and "Zohai" - that is commonly sold in head shops as incense and referred to as the "fake-pot". Produced in China and Korea, the mixture of herbs and spices is sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Users roll it up in joints or inhale it from pipes, just like the real thing. - AP

K2 costs between $20 and $50 for three grams, similar to the street price of marijuana, but with the key advantages of being legal and undetectable in drug tests. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration has classified it a "drug or chemical of concern."

Kansas and Missouri already have bills to ban the mystery substance. What is your state doing about this latest trend?

Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.

Read more on Examiner.

Sue Scheff: Facebook, Free Speech, Teachers, Students and the Law

With the recent headlines about Katherine Evans and her victory in Broward County, Florida regarding a judge's ruling, stated that she is allowed to sue her former principal.

Backed by lawyers from the Florida branch of the ACLU, Evans won her first victory this week when Judge Barry Garber ruled that she could proceed with the case because her Facebook group was protected by the First Amendment. "Evans' speech falls under the wide umbrella of protected speech," Garber wrote in his opinion. "It was an opinion of a student about a teacher, that was published off-campus, did not cause any disruption on-campus, and was not lewd, vulgar, threatening, or advocating illegal or dangerous behavior." - Digital Trends

Free speech does not condone defamation, however is what Katherine Evans wrote defamatory? That doesn't seem to be the case, the story is about the punishment that Evans received following posting ugly comments about one of her teachers.

Katherine Evans started the "Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I've ever met!" group on Facebook back in 2007 and featured a photograph of the teacher and an invitation for other students to "express your feelings of hatred," prompting a three-day suspension from school principal Peter Bayer. The suspension came two months after the page was taken down. Evans was also removed from Advanced Placement classes.

Evans wants to have the suspension removed from her disciplinary record and receive a nominal fee for the violation of her First Amendment rights.

Maybe this is an example of the old cliché, "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything." Or in today's digital world, "if you don't have something nice to post, don't post it."

Remember, what goes online, stays online. What you post today can come back to haunt you later. If you are angry with someone, dislike your boss or teacher - think twice before you post about it. Today once you put it out there, it virtually impossible to take it back, and most people don't want to end up in a courtroom - no matter what side you are on. There are never any winners. Except the lawyers, in my opinion.

Although Katherine Evans has been given the green light to file her case, free speech lives on, however when will people start realizing enough is enough with some forms of Internet abuse? Cyberbullying, Internet predators, and sexting are just the start of the ugliness that lurks online.

Eventually the laws need to catch up with the free for all cyberspace.

Read more on Examiner.