Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving: Prevent Underage Driving

Buzzed driving is drunk driving. Getting behind the wheel after even just one too many drinks can lead to disaster.

Show your support to end buzzed driving by pledging to make good decisions by not driving under the influence of alcohol. Take the time to share the pledge with others and with your help, we can end buzzed driving.

Take the pledge - click here.

Join Buzzed Driving on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for updated statistics.

Cybertraps for the Young

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By Frederick S. Lane

We teach knife and appliance safety in home economics; we teach gun safety as a prerequisite for a hunting license; auto safety in driver’s education; and the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in sex ed. The Internet’s potential for misuse, whether through a computer or a mobile phone, is at least as profound as a chef’s knife, a Camaro, or a .22, but our efforts to educate children about Internet safety are far more sporadic and less thorough.

Approaching the risks for children on the Internet in a thought-provoking and intellectual manner, this study skillfully integrates contemporary news reports and disturbing legal cases to show how Facebook and other ready-made forums for information exchange are breaking down boundaries of privacy and facilitating a growing number of criminal convictions for cyberbullying, child pornography, hacking, and copyright infringement.

Also included is a discussion of how the widespread use of camera phones, mobile tablets, and social media sites has given rise to a new and dangerous practice among teens: sexting. This reference provides parents with an authoritative lesson in cyberethics and practical instructions for instituting household internet policies, as well as school officials and communities with lessons on how to educate children about the responsible use of emerging mobile technologies.

Order on Amazon today and learn more here.

Tobacco Free Florida: Make 2012 Your Year to Get Healthy!

Tobacco Free Florida knows quitting can be very hard, but it's not impossible. In fact, there are more former smokers than current smokers in Florida.

With the right help, resources and the support to keep you going, Tobacco Free Florida can give you the best chance to quit for good. For each person, overcoming nicotine addiction is different and we can help you choose a path to quitting that works for you.

About Tobacco Free Florida:

In November 2006, Florida's voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment, Article X, Section 27, that called for reinstating a tobacco education and use prevention program. This program, Tobacco Free Florida (TFF), is a comprehensive effort to reduce tobacco use in the state.

TFF is administered through the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of Tobacco Prevention Program (BTPP), and funded by money derived from the tobacco settlement agreement with the major tobacco companies. The program today operates with an annual budget of roughly $65 million (15 percent of the tobacco trust fund), which is allocated by the legislature to prevent youth from starting to use tobacco and to provide tobacco cessation services, infrastructure and marketing efforts.

TFF shares its message through a comprehensive media campaign aimed at decreasing the number of tobacco users in the state through efforts to prevent non-users from starting to use tobacco and to encourage current users to quit. This message is critical to educate and change social behavior related to tobacco use in Florida, where each year more than 28,000 Floridians die from smoking and tobacco-related diseases cost the state an estimated $19.6 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Learn more - visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com. 

 

If You Loved Me You'd Stop

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If You Loved Me, You'd Stop! 

By Lisa Frederiksen

What You Really Need To Know When Your Loved One Drinks Too Much combines the most current brain research on alcoholism and alcohol abuse with Lisa Frederiksen's 40 years experience in dealing with these family problems.

By explaining this research from the perspective of someone who has personally survived the ravages of a loved one's drinking, Ms. Frederiksen offers fresh hope for the more than 50 percent of Americans (and the one in four children) who have a family member with a drinking problem.

Though it is a slim volume at 120 pages, this book nevertheless addresses a host of issues surrounding alcoholism and alcohol abuse, including co-addictions, DUIs (DWIs), underage drinking, dual diagnosis, codependency, and, importantly, the characteristics that distinguish alcoholism from alcohol abuse (excessive drinking). The book also contains numerous appendices containing references and suggestions for each issue addressed in the book. Frederiksen's book targets those who know their loved one drinks too much and believe that if they can just get them to stop, life will return to "normal."

The target markets also include pediatricians, internists, domestic violence center employees and volunteers, mental health professionals, alcoholics, alcohol abusers, law and public policy makers, treatment center personnel, family law attorneys and child protective services personnel. As a reviewed author and nationally-recognized speaker, Ms. Frederiksen plans to use her influence to not only inspire individual readers, but also to change the national culture of denial that allows the problem of alcoholism and alcohol abuse to continue plaguing families. Just as new research and grassroots action made bike helmets, children's car seats, and no smoking signs commonplace, so too can attitudes and social assumptions about drinking be changed to create a healthier environment for everyone.

To that end, Ms. Frederiksen has launched her website breakingthecycles.com to start a dialog to shift (and in cases simply start) the conversations around these important issues.

Order on Amazon today!

St. Gerard's Campus in St. Augustine

Let's face it, teen pregnancy is not an ideal situation however it happens.

Parenting is never easy, whether there is one parent or two involved, it is expensive and the cost is not only financial, but emotional.

St. Gerard, located in St. Augustine, has been helping young pregnant women and girls since 1981.

St. Gerard Campus rescues girls and provides guidance to help them avoid poverty, dependency, and welfare. They learn to cope with difficult situations, rise above those difficulties, and grow to be nurturing mothers, productive members of society, and a positive force in the workplace.

In their 30 years open, they have mentored over 48,000 mothers and supported the birth of almost 31,000 babies.

The holidays are a time to give.  Take the time to be a part of our community outreach, stop by and donate what you can.
Here is a list of some of the items they need:

• Food
• Formula
• Diapers
• Adult's and children's clothing
• Maternity clothes
• Baby clothing
• Cribs and bassinets
• Infant seats
• Car seats
• Bouncy seats
• Carriages
• Strollers
• High chairs
• Dressers
• Furniture and household items such as curtains, bedspreads, couches, tables, etc. 

If your not located in St. Augustine, be sure to find a local charity to give to, especially at this time of the year.  There are so many people, especially young children that need our help.

Order today on Amazon!

Indigo Teen Dreams: Guided Relaxation Techniques Designed to Decrease Stress, Anger and Anxiety while Increasing Self-esteem and Self-awareness

By Lori Lite, Leading Expert in Stress Relief

Indigo Teen Dreams allows teens to manage stress, anger, and anxiety while increasing self-esteem and self-awareness. Teens explore the research-based, stress-management techniques of breathing, visualizations, progressive muscular relaxation, and affirmations or positive statements. 

This straight forward, easy to follow approach encourages teens to take charge of their own feelings and stress. It provides a safe place where teens can be themselves while not worrying about peer pressure or living up to any ones expectations. The male narrator is motivating, encouraging and soothing at the same time! Additional uplifting music sound tracks are provided to further enhance their relaxation experience. Teens are encouraged to make good choices and believe in themselves while managing stress and anger. Great for teens entering Middle School through High School. 

Order today - click here. 

Stress Free Kids

Lori Lite, Founder of Stress Free Kids

Stress Free Kids® founder Lori Lite has created a line of books and CDs designed to help children, teens and adults reduce stress, anxiety & anger. As a parent, bedtime meant two stressed filled hours trying to get our young son to sleep. Our daughter developed stress related night terrors and Lori herself became sick from anxiety. In an effort to help our own family, Lori created stories that would entertain our children while introducing research-based relaxation and stress management techniques.

Our books and CDs will teach you and your children how to manage stress by using the proven techniques of deep breathing, progressive muscular relaxation, visualizations, and affirmations/positive statements. This unique storytelling format has been embraced by psychologists, doctors, child life care specialists, yoga instructors, teachers, counselors, parents, and most importantly… children.

Our relaxation music CDs and bedtime stories give you a variety of tools to make bedtime and stress management easy, available, and fun.

We are also proud to support our military families as well as our special needs community.
Our blog/articles, newsletter, and resources offer stress tips and information on the mental health challenges facing our children and teens. We are active with Facebook and Twitter.

Kids are Heroes

Kids Are Heroes^® is a non-profit that empowers, encourages and inspires children to become leaders through volunteerism and community involvement. We do this by showcasing and supporting children who are making a difference through their selfless acts of giving.

We teach children to follow their passions at an early age. This will instinctively stay with them throughout their entire lives.

Kids are indeed heroes and each one has the power to change the world.

To see how kids are making a huge impact, and to see how YOU can become a hero, click on "Meet the Heroes".  

 

Our kids are drilling water wells in Africa, helping orphans in India and building homes in Haiti. They are recycling and cleaning up their neighborhoods, helping their local animal shelters and making life better for their neighbors. And guess what? They are ALL just like YOU! 

Visit www.KidsAreHeroes.org and learn more!

 

Detached: Surviving Reactive Attachment Disorder

By Jessie Hogsett


DETACHED! SURVIVING REACTIVE ATTACHMENT DISORDER is the true story of a young boy who never "attached" or "bonded" with his alcoholic mother. He felt unloved, uncared for, unsafe, sad, lonely and extremely angry. As he grew up, he, like most Reactive Attachment Disordered kids, acted out, exhibiting severely antisocial, even violent, behavior. You'll travel back in time to view a young child's life through his own eyes. You'll see an innocent boy become a severely emotionally disturbed teen. Then, against all odds, you'll read about miracles few ever thought possible.

Order today.

Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teachers, and the Culture of Sex

By Amy T. Schalet

For American parents, teenage sex is something to be feared and forbidden: most would never consider allowing their children to have sex at home, and sex is a frequent source of family conflict. In the Netherlands, where teenage pregnancies are far less frequent than in the United States, parents aim above all for family cohesiveness, often permitting young couples to sleep together and providing them with contraceptives.

Order today - for all 21st century parents!

Drawing on extensive interviews with parents and teens, "Not Under My Roof" offers an unprecedented, intimate account of the different ways that girls and boys in both countries negotiate love, lust, and growing up. Tracing the roots of the parents' divergent attitudes, Amy Schalet reveals how they grow out of their respective conceptions of the self, relationships, gender, autonomy, and authority. She provides a probing analysis of the way family culture shapes not just sex but also alcohol consumption and parent-teen relationships. Avoiding caricatures of permissive Europeans and puritanical Americans, Schalet shows that the Dutch require self-control from teens and parents, while Americans guide their children toward autonomous adulthood at the expense of the family bond.

Order today on Amazon.

Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse

By Dr. Patti Feuereisen Ph.D.

The statistics are staggering.

One in four girls will experience sexual abuse by the time she is sixteen, and 48 percent of all rapes involve a young woman under the age of eighteen. It’s not surprising then, that in a society where sexual abuse of young women is rampant, many women never share their stories. They remain hidden and invisible.

In her pioneering work with young survivors through the last thirty years, Dr. Patti Feuereisen has helped teen girls and young women to find their voices, begin healing, and become visible.

In this revised second edition, Dr. Patti’s gentle guidance and the girls’ powerful stories continue to create an encouraging message: Remarkable healing is possible if girls learn to share their stories in their teens and early twenties. With a new introduction, new chapters, and updated resources, this new edition of Invisible Girls has even more to offer girls, young women, and those who care about them.

Order today.

Kids Discuss and Parent Resources

KidsDiscuss.com and Parent Resources from Jean Tracy

I earned my Master of Social Work degree from Bryn Mawr College. Parenting Resources grew out of my experiences as a mother, a teacher, a marriage and family counselor for over 20 years, and as an author and speaker. - Jean Tracy

From books, ebooks, videos, online courses, parenting audios and more - there is something for parents raising today's children.  Visit www.KidsDiscuss.com today and learn more!

Join KidsDiscuss on Facebook and follow Jean Tracy on Twitter.

One Family One Community

ONE FAMILY ONE COMMUNITY IS A SHOWCASE OF THE POSITIVE PROGRAMS AND GOOD WORKS OF INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATED MEMBERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.  WE WORK COLLECTIVELY AS A WHOLE TO AID EACH OTHER  IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL, ECONOMICAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PROJECTS. HERE, OUR STAFF ARE CONSTANTLY STUDYING, LEARNING, AND APPLY THOSE SKILLS WHICH WOULD ACCELERATE OUR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AS A POSITIVE FORCE WITHIN OUR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITY. PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LEGAL RESEARCH TEAM AND KNOW THAT ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN IN RESEARCHING NEW LAWS AND LEGISLATION WHICH WOULD ASSIST US IN OUR CAUSE AND THE CAUSE OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. 

WE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING NEW UPDATES ON PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS. WE WILL BE GIVING RECOGNITION TO THOSE ASSOCIATED MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE. SO VISIT THIS WEBSITE OFTEN, TO STAY IN TUNE TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY NEAR YOU.

Learn more.

Digital Shepherds: Insuring you and your family's safety online

Founded in 2009, Digital Shepherds is an organization whose focus is instructing and educating parents, through workshops and seminars, webinar/distance learning and direct dvd sales, on how to “techno-proof” their homes when their children are young and ultimately help cultivate trust and digital literacy in the household as the young ones mature and the digital lifestyle becomes more a part of their lives.

Join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for the most up-to-date information about online safety and education.

One of their important articles is:

5 Tips For A Digital Drama Free School Year

Click here for the tips.

Miriam's Kitchen - Give to the Max Day

•  Starting at midnight on Wednesday, November 9, local residents will donate online to help raise millions of dollars for local nonprofits as part of the first annual Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington.

•  Give to the Max Day is a massive one-day regional online fundraiser that will unite local Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC communities to support nonprofits serving the area.

•  As part of Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington, nonprofits large and small can earn their share of $125,000 in cash awards, including up to $25,000 for nonprofits with the most individual donors and the most money donated.

• Homelessness in Washington, DC, the Nation's Capitol: there are more than 6,500 homeless men, women and children in Washington, DC on any given night. Of those, nearly 2,000 are chronically homeless--meaning they have been homeless for a year or more, or four or more times in the past three years.

•  Miriam's Kitchen provides free, homemade meals and high-quality support services to more than 4,000 homeless men and women each year in the Nation's Capitol, Washington, DC. Their core programs are meals, case management, Miriam's Studio, and Miriam's Cafe.   

• Homelessness at Miriam's Kitchen: on any given day at Miriam's Kitchen, 82 percent of their guests are chronically homeless.  In fact, the average length of homelessness of the guests is 5.5 years

• Nearly 80 percent of Miriam's Kitchen's guests live on the streets of DC, in parks around the city, under the bridges along the Potomac River, and in emergency shelters.  

• Miriam's Kitchen's guest demographics: 95 percent of Miriam's Kitchen's guests are male, 60 percent are African American and the median age of our guests is 50.

• Mental illness and addiction at Miriam's Kitchen: Many of Miriam's Kitchen's guests suffer from severe mental illnesses and addictions, making them the most fragile and hardest to connect with social services.

Learn more at http://www.miriamskitchennews.org/.

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

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By James Patterson, Laura Parker, Chris Tebbetts

"Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school and the school bully Miller (aka Miller the Killer) into the mix. Luckily, he's got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school's oppressive Code of Conduct.

But when Rafe's game starts to catch up with him, he'll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he's finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he's been avoiding. "

Read More at http://middleschoolbook.com/


Order on Amazon today!

November is Bullying Prevention Month: Bully Bust Your Community

What is BullyBust?

A nationwide bully prevention awareness effort launched by NSCC in 2009, BullyBust is designed to help students and adults become “upstanders”—people who stand up to bullying and become part of the solution to end harmful harassment, teasing, and violence in our nation's schools. BullyBust promotes valuable free supports to help schools-in-need put an end to bullying with targeted school-wide and classroom-based efforts. This site includes research-based resources for students, parents, and educators for addressing bullying incidences effectively and creating a culture of upstanders inside and out of school.

Join BULLYBUST to make your voice count in a community-led concerted effort to REDUCE bullying in schools! Through this campaign, you will have an opportunity to SHARE your stories, PLEDGE your commitment to the cause, GAIN ACCESS to key supports, and CREATE a school-wide effort of hope and solidarity.

Visit www.BullyBust.org.

Join them on Facebook and Twitter.

Bullies 2 Buddies

Is your child being bullied in school? Are you angry because the school is failing to make the bullying stop? Or are you furious because the school is accusing your child of being a bully?

If you have found that everything you and your school are doing to make bullying stop isn’t working, you have come to the right place! Bullies to Buddies™ has materials and services that really work!

Learn more at www.Bullies2Buddies.com and become an educated parent!

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner's Guide

If you manage the health and well-being of 9- to 18-year-olds, this Guide is for you.

“Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner’s Guide” is designed to help health care professionals quickly identify youth at risk for alcohol-related problems. NIAAA developed the Guide and Pocket Guide in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, a team of underage drinking researchers and clinical specialists, and practicing health care professionals.

Why use this tool?

• It can detect risk early: In contrast to other screens that focus on established alcohol problems, this early detection tool aims to help you prevent alcohol-related problems in your patients before they start or address them at an early stage.
   
• It’s empirically based: The screening questions and risk scale, developed through primary survey research, are powerful predictors of current and future negative consequences of alcohol use.
   
• It’s fast and versatile: The screen consists of just two questions, which can be incorporated easily into patient interviews or pre-visit screening tools across the care spectrum, from annual exams to urgent care.
   
• It’s the first tool to include friends’ drinking: The “friends” question will help you identify patients at earlier stages of alcohol involvement and target advice to include the important risk of friends’ drinking.

Download or order the Guide and pocket guide.

You may also be interested in related resources to support you, your patients, and their families

Class Wish Web Thrift Store

Making a difference.

You know how deep the school budget cuts have been!  Now, your child doesn’t have to sit in a classroom that doesn’t have enough supplies and equipment.  Now, teachers don’t have to spend their own money just to provide the basics.

An exciting nonprofit has a new solution. 

Here’s an easy new way that all of us can turn unused household items into resources for the classroom of our choice:  http://ClassWish-WebThriftStore.org.     

You list items on the site.  Visitors buy.  And a full 80% of the purchase price will go to help fulfill a Wish List for the K-12 teacher or PTA/PTO you choose, so your child and others can perform at their best.  It gets even better: you will receive a tax-deduction for the value of the item (generally, the full purchase price).  

Imagine what a well-equipped classroom your child could have if all the parents participate!

To get the greatest exposure for your items, list them today so the first buyers see them when we start selling on October 21. 

The web thrift store is brought to you http://ClassWish.org, the nonprofit about which Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010 National Teacher of the Year, wrote, “This nonprofit is a swift and inventive way for communities to unite in support of the tools that make learning more accessible for all students.”

Please list your items today.  Tell your child’s teacher and the school’s PTA.  And be sure to tell other parents about this great new opportunity. 

 

Learn more at www.ClassWish.org.

Sober Info: Educating your community

SOBERINFO is an informational news portal for the sobriety community to empower, share, educate and learn from others within the industry. 

 

SOBERINFO is a collaborative platform for industry professionals and participants, alike, to submit their own original content as well as recommend useful resources, news articles and blog posts that may be of value to the sobriety community.  

 

SOBERINFO was designed to be the go to resource for the most useful and relevant information the internet has to offer.  This site was built for those in the sobriety community, so please help us to make it the powerful tool it was designed to be.

Contact Information:

info@soberinfo.com

714.545.5384

www.soberinfo.com

Follow on Twitter.

Tobacco Free Florida: Halloween Haunting - Candy Flavored Tobacco Products

Kid-friendly flavors, colorful packaging and scheming marketing campaigns target young people while masking the harmful tendencies of tobacco use.


The emergence of new candy-flavored tobacco products has parents, teachers, health advocates, physicians and communities rightly concerned. Cigarillos, cigars and a host of smokeless tobacco products - chew, snuff, snus, dissolvable tobacco - now come in such tantalizing flavors as pineapple, sour apple and chocolate. They are presented in bright and playful packaging and readily available at convenience stores throughout the state, much like Halloween candy.

These products, widely considered to be a gateway to a lifetime of tobacco addiction, have been proven to entice young audiences. In fact, use of all flavored tobacco products among youth is trending upward. In Florida, one in six kids between the ages of 11 and 17 had ever tried flavored tobacco, and youth erroneously believe these products to be less harmful than their non-flavored counterparts.

“It’s the ultimate guise,” remarked Kim Berfield, Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Health.“Youth are drawn in to the pageantry of these novel products and fall prey to the tobacco industry’s sweet deception.”

Youth have always been an essential target for the tobacco industry. Numerous internal tobacco industry documents reveal that the companies perceive kids as a key market, and develop products and advertising campaigns aimed at them. With traditional smoking rates on the decline in the U.S., the tobacco industry insures its livelihood by creating products and strategies that connect with a new generation of tobacco users.
“I want to ensure that my peers understand that candy-flavored tobacco is not safer than cigarettes or other ‘plain’ tobacco products,” said Kareem Golden (Putnam County), SWAT State Chair. “I see these products more and more in my everyday life -- in magazines, at sporting events, at local convenience stores. Plus, with some of the new dissolvable products, no one even knows when you’re using them, so I urge people to resist the lure of these products.”

Candy-flavored smokeless tobacco products are also perceived to be less harmful; but in reality, these products contain more nicotine than cigarettes, and 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens), including nitrosamines, which are the most harmful. In addition, people who experiment with smokeless tobacco often develop a pattern of regular daily use.
Fortunately, the onslaught of flavored tobacco products has not gone unnoticed. The controversial candy-flavored cigarette was banned under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Actin 2009. However, menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, cigarillos and smokeless products were not included. Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is examining options for regulating these remaining categories of flavored tobacco products.

Many municipalities throughout the state of Florida have taken on candy-flavored tobacco head-on. In June, Sarasota County passed a resolution urging local vendors to cease the sale and marketing of all candy-flavored tobacco products. The Fort Myers City Council also signed a resolution that urges tobacco retailers to stop selling and marketing all flavored tobacco in the city limits.


Remember, candy-flavored tobacco products pose significant health risks. They can cause cancers of the mouth, lung, pancreas, esophagus, and larynx and possibly contribute to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory diseases.

Don’t be fooled by the most dangerous disguise of them all.  If you are looking to quit or would like to encourage someone to stop using candy-flavored tobacco, Tobacco Free Florida can help. Tobacco Free Florida offers a number of free and convenient resources to help all tobacco users quit.

• Phone: Call the Florida Quitline at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW to speak with a Quit Coach who will help you assess your addiction and help you create a personalized quit plan.
• Online: Enroll in the Web Coach®, which will help you create your own web-based quit plan that’s right for you, visit https://www.quitnow.net/florida.
• In-person: Visit the Florida Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network’s website, http://ahectobacco.com, to locate your local AHEC and sign up for Quit Smoking Now group classes. 

ABOUT TOBACCO FREE FLORIDA

Tobacco Free Florida (TFF) is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund.  The program is managed by the Florida Department of Health, specifically the Bureau of Tobacco Prevention Program.  TFF’s mission is to combat the pervasive problem of tobacco use in the Sunshine State, where each year, more than 28,000 Floridians die from smoking and tobacco-related diseases cost the state an estimated $19.6 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Since its inception in February 2008, TFF has reached millions of Floridians through advertising, grassroots initiatives, social media, and public relations efforts as a means of providing information and offer resources to help tobacco users quit.  Smokers and smokeless tobacco users interested in quitting are encouraged to call the Florida Quitline at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW to speak with a quit coach.  To learn about TFF and the state’s free quit smoking resources, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or Twitter at twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.

 

Join me on Facebook  and follow me on Twitter for more information and educational articles on parenting today's teenagers.

Stop Bullying: SPEAK UP

Bullying hurts our kids. 

 

It can have a lasting and damaging impact on their lives – sometimes more than we realize. Our goal is to raise awareness of the simple, yet powerful actions that parents, kids, and educators can take to prevent bullying. We hope to inspire millions of bystanders to take action by speaking up when they see bullying and to grow a community committed to ending bullying.

 

For more information visit www.StopBullyingSpeakUp.com and join their Facebook page.

Red Ribbon Campaign: Preventing Teen Drug Use

The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. NFP provides drug awareness by sponsoring the annual National Red Ribbon Celebration. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.

Enrique (Kiki) Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985. When he decided to join the US Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out of it. "I'm only one person", he told her, "but I want to make a difference."

On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found. He had been tortured to death.

In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon.

In 1988, NFP sponsored the first National Red Ribbon Celebration. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children and families.

The National Family Partnership (NFP) and its network of individuals and organizations continue to deliver his message of hope to millions of people every year, through the National Red Ribbon Campaign.

Learn more - click here.

Caregiver Village: Making A Difference

Today in the U.S. alone over 50 million individuals are caregivers for an aged, ill or challenged family member.  Whether you have a child with autism or ADHD or a parent with Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s, you may be one of those millions, experiencing an unprecedented level of stress and personal challenge.

Despite millions of dollars and hundreds of dedicated websites, family caregivers are still in trouble. With over 60 million family caregivers in the U.S. alone, many are sick (with nearly twice the rate of chronic illnesses as their non-caregiving peers); they’re depressed (40-60% report significant feelings of depression) and they’re frustrated, unable to find resources or solutions they need to help with the basic, day-to-day caregiving tasks they face. They’re also costly to our economy, accounting for an estimated $33 billion in lost productivity to our country’s businesses.

It’s time to change this description of the family caregiver. It’s time improve the lives of family caregivers. Caregiver Village, a brand new place on the web, is dedicated to doing exactly this.

Learn more:

caregivervillage.com
facebook.com/caregivervillage
twitter.com/cgvillage 

Abuse Bites

Abuse Bites was created by Lisa Freeman who is an abuse survivor.

Many don't realize that bullying isn't just limited to kids and teens.  Adult bullying is more prevalent that many know.

Abuse Bites Workshops Aim to Educate & Train employers and workers alike how to defeat bullying and make the workforce a more enjoyable, safer, and productive place.

October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  Find out how you can help your community combat bullying and learn more about bullying prevention.

GAPRA: Global Alliance for Preventing Relational Aggression

Welcome Schools and Youth Organizations!

You Know the Devastating Effect Relational Aggression (RA), or Emotional Bullying, Can Have in Your School or Youth Organization. Are You Ready to Equip Your Staff, Volunteers, and Parents with Tools to Reduce Relational Aggression in Your Community?

Relational Aggression Causes Emotional Suffering

This unproductive behavior frequently:

• Wastes opportunities for growth and learning
• Steals time
• Causes dropout behavior
• Decreases attendance
• Leads to eating disorders, self-mutilation, depression or suicide
• Leaves lasting emotional scars

The Solution: Train Everyone in Your School or Youth Organization

Training your staff, volunteers and parents to recognize relational aggression and to know how to effectively deal with it will have a positive influence on your youth.

Membership in GAPRA Equips Your School or Organization with Training, Tools and Support – Without Having to Leave Town!

When your school or youth organization joins GAPRA, you equip everyone in your community with the knowledge and skills to prevent relational aggression through monthly training opportunities, CDs, transcripts and checklists/forms/templates.

You, your group leaders, parents, counselors, teachers, administrators and others will learn a common language and positive framework to proactively address relational aggression.

Empower Your Community to Think and Work Together to Support Your Youth From Every Angle. Join GAPRA Now!

GAPRA membership is affordable.

Learn more about how an annual GAPRA membership will help your community.

Teen Sex: Sex Etc..... Answering those questions parents struggle with

Sex, Etc. is on a mission to improve teen sexual health across the country! Each year, five million young people visit Sexetc.org, and over 45,000 read our national magazine to get honest and accurate sexual health information. We've helped teens with answers to their questions about sex, relationships, pregnancy, STDs, birth control, sexual orientation and more!
Sexetc.org features 17 topic areas plus the following sections:

• Stories written by teen staff writers and national contributors.
• Your Voice, Your Rights, which gives teens the opportunity to create a profile, share stories about sexuality education in their schools and speak up for the sex ed they want, need and deserve.
• “Take Action,” which gives teens the tools to advocate for comprehensive sex ed in their schools and communities.
• The Sex, Etc. blog—Beyond the Birds and the Bees—which addresses timely sexual health issues that are relevant to teens.
• Forums where teens can participate in moderated discussions with other teens.
• "Sex in the States," which is a state-by-state guide to teens' rights to sex education, birth control and more.
• Videos about sexual health.
• A Sex Terms glossary of more than 400 terms
• A mobile site that can be accessed on any phone with Internet access. It contains all of our FAQs, Sex Terms and Sex in the States information.

Sex, Etc. is part of the Teen-to-Teen Sexuality Education Project developed by Answer, a national organization dedicated to providing and promoting comprehensive sexuality education to young people and the adults in their lives. For more information about Answer and to find out how you can support better sex education, please visit the Answer Web site.

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