College Gambling: Know the Facts

College gambling is not a subject many parents talk about or even think about, however it is a serious concern.  Did you know approximately 75 percent of college students gambled during the past year (whether legally or illegally)?

More facts on college gambling:

• The most recent research estimates that 6 percent of college students in the U.S. have a serious gambling problem that can result in psychological difficulties, unmanageable debt and failing grades.
• Research has shown that teenagers and college-aged young adults are more impulsive and at higher risk for developing gambling disorders than adults. 
• Most adults with a gambling problem started gambling at an early age. Scientists have learned that the adolescent brain is still growing, which accounts for the frequently impulsive behavior and unwise decisions of teenagers.
• Compared to female college students, research suggests that male college students are more likely to have gambled in the past year, gambled with more money and reported having gambling problems.
• Gambling disorders are associated with numerous negative consequences and are highly correlated with other risky behaviors in the college student population.
• Compared to students without gambling problems, students with gambling problems are more likely to use tobacco, drink heavily or binge drink, smoke marijuana or use other illegal drugs, drive under the influence and have a low GPA.
• Gambling opportunities, once only available in a few states, have proliferated nationwide during the past 30 years with the expansion of lotteries, casinos, and Internet gambling. Therefore, today’s college students are exposed to not only drinking and drug use but also gambling, both on campus and in the surrounding community.
• While the most recent research estimates that 6 percent of college students have a gambling problem, college students appear to mature out of these problems, as they do with alcohol and drug use, after college. This is evidenced by the fact that only 1 percent of the adult population has a gambling disorder in the U.S.

Visit www.CollegeGambling.org for more information.

Teen Rage and Anger: Explosive Behavior

Child Rage: Explosive Anger in Kids and Teens

By Janet Lehman, MSW

Screaming fights. Destructive behavior. Volatile moods. Do your child’s anger and rage make you feel exhausted and out of control? In a recent Empowering Parents poll, Angie S. commented, “I walk on eggshells around my 15-year-old son. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’m afraid of his explosive temper.” In that same poll, more than 50 percent of respondents said that they end up “losing control and screaming back” when their child’s anger reaches the boiling point. But matching your child’s rage with your own angry response is not the answer. Janet Lehman, MSW, explains why—and tells you how to form a plan to help you handle their behavior.

By getting you to tiptoe around him, your child is teaching you to behave differently—he’s training you to anticipate his angry outbursts.

 

As a parent, one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do is manage your child’s behavior when they are in an angry, volatile mood. Whether you refer to it as a temper tantrum or extreme rage, I believe the most important thing you can do is create a “Rage Plan” to help you handle your child’s behavior. The following 5 steps are the basis of this plan:

1. Make sure the area around your child is safe. Make sure that the area your child is in is safe and that no one can be hurt if and when he lashes out. Remove yourself and any siblings from the area. Reduce any stimulation in his vicinity. Turn off the TV, lower the lights. The idea is to let your child wear himself out. (This step applies to adolescents as well as to young children.)
2. Try to get calm: Even if emotions are running high, work to calm yourself down. Talk to your child in an even tone of voice. Tell him that his behavior is unacceptable and that you’ll speak with him when he’s calmed down. Model good behavior for your child. Remember, kids learn from their parents, which is another reason you want to remain calm. You’re teaching him appropriate ways to manage stressful situations.
3. Don’t respond to name-calling or verbal abuse. If your child is screaming things at you, calling you names, or saying you’re “the worst parent in the world,” do not respond to it. Simply leave the room or send him to his bedroom. Don’t yell back at your child because it will bring you into his rage and make you the focal point of his anger.

Read the entire article from Empowering Parents - click here.

Order your FREE trial Total Transformation program today and help you help your children and teens

Ride with Me for Autism 2011

Ride with Me for Autism

A Great Ride for a Great Cause

The American Academy of Pediatrics announced in October, 2009, that one out of 91 children is being diagnosed with autism today and 1 out of 58 boys are affected. Tragically, roughly one percent of American children are now on the autism spectrum. There is a great need for families to obtain early intervention services and ongoing support for their loved one(s) throughout their life span. This puts a great emotional and financial hardship on the majority of families, because services and support do not come easily.

Ride with Me for Autism enables us to raise funding for Autism awareness, to give assistance, provide support and to help fulfill the needs of families who battle with Autism.

Read more.

Empowering Parents: Effective Parenting Articles

From the team that brought you The Total Transformation Program they have now expanded into Empowering Parents with Effective Parenting Articles and Blogs written by experts in the field of parenting.

What you will find on Empowering Parents is as follows:

• Content-rich articles: Help for parents that they can use right away. We start with the practical foundation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and go from there.

• Our Experts: Advice from some of the most well-respected professionals in their field, including James and Janet Lehman, MSW, Dr. Bob Myers, and Debbie Pincus MS LMHC.

• Podcasts: Featuring a different One Minute Transformation from James Lehman each month, podcasts by Child Psychologist Dr. Robert Myers, and interviews with our own qualified and compassionate Parental Support Line Staff.

• An Active Blogging Community: Blog posts by experts and our own dedicated team of “Parent Bloggers,” who discuss everything from bullying to substance abuse to bedtime strategies. Readers are encouraged to apply to become parent bloggers.

• Parenting Programs: Programs that all have the same goal at their core—helping parents manage their children’s behavior more effectively. To see more, check out our store.

• Polls: A new parenting poll on a different topic every month. 

Learn more at www.EmpoweringParents.com.

Wellspring Camps 2011: Weight Loss Camps for Kids, Teens, Young Adults

Wellspring is the leading organization of weight loss camps for kids, teens, young adults and women. Unlike fat camps, boot camps, or traditional weight loss camps, Wellspring's scientific approach to diet and activity management helps campers change their lifestyle for the better, forever. In fact, 70% of Wellspring campers maintain or continue losing weight at home.

What makes Wellspring different?


The scientific Wellspring Plan, trains campers on the self-regulatory skills they need to return to a healthy weight, and offers families a simple and sustainable solution to supporting their child at home. We invite you to spend time exploring our site to learn why so many more families choose Wellspring than any other weight loss camp.

Weight Loss Camp Locations and Programs:

With 12 summer weight loss programs, Wellspring has the perfect program to meet your weight loss needs:

• Weight loss camps for kids, teens and young adults ages 11-24
• Wellspring Family Camp for families with children ages 5-15
• Wellspring Women's Program for adult women ages 25 - 65+

Whether you're looking for an adventure camp experience, a summer at the beach, or a camp close to home, Wellspring offers a summer of fun, friendship and fitness.  Take a look at our locations and start planning for the best summer of your life!

Learn more at www.WellspringCamps.com.  Read more.

Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention

Order on Amazon today.

By Katherine Ellison 

A hilarious and heartrending account of one mother's journey to understand and reconnect with her high-spirited preteen son--a true story sure to beguile parents grappling with a child's bewildering behavior.

Popular literature is filled with the stories of self-sacrificing mothers bravely tending to their challenging children. Katherine Ellison offers a different kind of tale. Shortly after Ellison, an award-winning investigative reporter, and her twelve-year-old son, Buzz, were both diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, she found herself making such a hash of parenting that the two of them faced three alternatives: he'd go to boarding school; she'd go AWOL; or they'd make it their full-time job to work out their problems together. They decided to search for a solution while Ellison investigated what genuine relief, if any, might be found in the confusing array of goods sold by the modern mental health industry.

The number of diagnoses for childhood attention and behavior issues is exploding, leaving parents and educators on a confusing chase to find the best kind of help for each child. Buzz, a page-turner of a memoir, brings much relief. It is immensely engaging, laugh-out-loud funny, and honest--and packed with helpful insights.

Order on Amazon.

Heartlight Girls: Self Esteem for Young Girls

Order on Amazon today.

Young girls of today are bombarded by the media and their peers to conform to an unrealistic and idealistic image based on external appearances.  

Much focus is placed upon what one looks like, while little is being done developing them internally, reminding them of their true essence.  

Because of this, anorexia, bulimia, depression, plastic surgery, and even suicide are at an all time high amongst our teens.

HEARTLIGHT GIRLS  is about developing young girls (ages 7-14) from the “inside out”, empowering them and building a strong foundation within themselves prior to reaching the turbulent teenage years. 

HEARTLIGHT GIRLS  not only help raise the self-esteem of girls, but bring to their awareness the beauty of the essence that is at the core of each of us.  The result is happier and healthier young women, more self-reliant and self-controlled…in other words, less vulnerable to the negative influences that are an unfortunate part of adolescence. 

Order Beauty's Secret: A Girl's Discovery of Inner Beauty by Debra Gano (founder of Heartlight Girls) today.

Follow them on Twitter @HeartlightGirls.

Savvy Parents Safe Kids

Do you wonder how to keep your children safer? Do the endless media stories about abductions, Child Sexual

Abuse and other crimes have you concerned?

You are not alone. 

In todays hectic world, it can seem difficult to know when, where, how and why we should be talking to our kids about safety.

Your child is unique and so are their safety needs. A Savvy Parents Safe Kids workshop will help YOU learn the best practice safety tips that will be effective with YOUR child.

No scare tactics, no graphic conversations.

Your child's safety, made simple.

The Super 10 from Savvy Parents Safe Kids:

1.  I am SPECIAL & I have the right to be safe at all times.     
2. I know my NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER and my caregiver’s name too.  
3. I never go ANYWHERE or take anything from someone I don’t know.      
4. I always CHECK FIRST to get permission before I go anywhere or get into a car, even if it is with someone I know.                   
5. My bathing suit areas are PRIVATE!                
6. I don’t have to be POLITE if someone tries to bully me into doing something that makes me feel uncomfortable or scared.
7. It’s OK to say “NO!” & tell a safe grown-up when something doesn’t feel right.        
8. I don’t keep SECRETS (especially from my caregivers)!           
9. I always take a buddy and I know what to do if I ever get LOST.
10. I always pay ATTENTION TO MY OWN INNER VOICE, especially that “uh-oh” feeling.

Job-Applications.com - Get Ready Now for Summer Jobs

Whether you are a recent graduate from college, a student looking for a part-time job or vacancy, are a mom returning to work, someone rebounding from a recent layoff, a teenager looking for summer employment, or just looking to switch careers, you can find or download printable employment applications or find your next employer by completing a job application online through job-applications.com now.

Visit www.Job-Applications.com for many applications for chain stores, restaurants and other employment opportunities.

Beyond Bullies

Get involved today!

Beyond Bullies is the first online program in the United States, dedicated to helping teenagers who are the targets of bullying and cyberbullying, primarily through online and offline help from peer mentors.
Our Mission is to assist teens to become involved in leadership positions in their schools by providing opportunities for them to become aware, confident and caring role models.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The program allows teenagers who are targets of bullying and cyberbullying the ability to reach out to peer mentors online in private chat rooms, discussion boards and through e-mail. The program provides a safe space for teens to communicate what it’s like for them to go to school and be teased, physically intimidated, beaten up, socially excluded from their circle of friends or tormented online, through social networks, texts or the internet.

Many E-mentors who become peer mentors with Beyond Bullies, have overcome bullying and are now able to turn on their computers and go to school again. Peer mentors volunteer their time because they are supportive, caring, non-judgmental and open-minded.

Mentors specifically train to deal with difficult situations. They will not judge you. What you will get is someone who will read your emails, understand your concerns, and help you know what options are available.

Peer mentors and targets of bullying have been recruited from high schools in Los Angeles and the greater surrounding area. After being accepted into the online program and completing a training course, teens are required to mentor students for a minimum of at least one year. During this time, they will work one shift for three hours per week after school online on their personal computers. Arrangements will be made for students who do not have a personal computer.

The program helps students build character and integrity, which sets the stage for them to learn how to manage their feelings and have empathy and compassion for bullies, instead of becoming one.

Beyond Bullies is a project of Visions Made Viable, a 501c(3) organization.

Follow them on Twitter at @BeyondBullies

Learn more.

Hiroshima in the Morning - Many Opinions

By Rahna Reiko Rizzuto

In June 2001 Rahna Reiko Rizzuto went to Hiroshima in search of a deeper understanding of her war-torn heritage. She planned to spend six months there, interviewing the few remaining survivors of the atomic bomb. A mother of two young boys, she was encouraged to go by her husband, who quickly became disenchanted by her absence.

It is her first solo life adventure, immediately exhilarating for her, but her research starts off badly. Interviews with the hibakusha feel rehearsed, and the survivors reveal little beyond published accounts. Then the attacks on September 11 change everything. The survivors' carefully constructed memories are shattered, causing them to relive their agonizing experiences and to open up to Rizzuto in astonishing ways.

Separated from family and country while the world seems to fall apart, Rizzuto's marriage begins to crumble as she wrestles with her ambivalence about being a wife and mother. Woven into the story of her own awakening are the stories of Hiroshima in the survivors' own words. The parallel narratives explore the role of memory in our lives and show how memory is not history but a story we tell ourselves to explain who we are.

Rahna Reiko Rizzuto's highly acclaimed first novel, Why She Left Us, won an American Book Award in 2000. She is a faculty member in the MFA in creative writing program at Goddard College, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Order on Amazon.

Living Social: Something for Everyone - From Teens to Parents

Saving money and living well!

LivingSocial offers daily deals on handpicked experiences that can be shared with friends. Our mission is to add surprise to every calendar. So we dig deep, pursuing both the things that define a place and the undiscovered jewels. We design total experiences that bring an adventurous, loyal new following to local businesses. Innovation and imagination have made LivingSocial the fastest-growing company in the social-buying category. We satisfy cravings for the new and different at significant savings. LivingSocial means living with real connection. We shape social lives.

Great way to save money and enjoy trips, services, products and more in your local area or areas that interest you!  I know people that have used LivingSocial with 100% satisfaction.  I just made my first purchase - and looking forward to using it.....