Teens and Summer Camps: 30 Blogs With Tips and Resources for Parents

Choosing the right summer camp for your teens is an important task. Your teens are reaching those formative years where they are putting childish things aside and taking the first steps towards becoming young adults. As a parent, this leaves you in a bit of a predicament. There’s a fine line between fun and silliness, so choosing a summer camp that reflects their newfound maturity is difficult.

These 30 blogs will help you and your teen decide which camp is best for them.

Things to Consider
First of all, you should sit down with your teens and discuss all your options. Do your research so that you are not just randomly searching for general summer camps. Ask your teens what kind of summer camp they’re most interested in, then start narrowing your list from there. In these five blogs you will find some of the most common things to consider when choosing a summer camp for your teens.

• Choosing the Best Summer Camps for Your Kids
• Summer Camps for kids-worth it?
• Blog / Vacation Months With Excellent Summer Day Camps For Kids
• Best Seattle Summer Camps Tips
• Value vs Cost of Camp: What Parents Should Understand

Sports Camps
By the time your kids reach their teenage years, there’s a good chance that they’ll have an interest in a sport or two. If so, this may make choosing a summer camp much easier. Continuing sporting activities throughout the summer is the best way for your teens to improve, plus it’s healthy and fun, too! If you think your teens would get a lot out of a summer sports camp, take a look at these five blogs for some inspiration.

• Sign Up for Sporting Summer Camps Now
• Peer Approval Stimulates the Adolescent Brain
• Nine Tips for Choosing a Summer Camp
• The 5 Best Summer Camps for Kids
• How Summer Camps Can Develop Your Kid Into A Leader

Camps with a Difference
During their teen years, most kids will develop an interest in a particular hobby or activity. As long as it’s healthy and safe, most parents are happy to nurture their teens’ interests. When it comes to summer camp, there’s no reason why teens shouldn’t get to continue with their passion. With that in mind, these five blogs cover some of the more unusual choices for teen summer camps.

• Summer Adventure Camp Registration, Now Open!
• Send Your Kids to Cook’s Culinary Summer Camp
• 10 Really Different but Awesome Summer Camps
• Skip the Mega Expensive Summer Camps and Try These Unique Alternatives Instead
• Comedy camp helps kids hone their funny bone image

Education Camps
Let’s face it, some teens are never happier than when they’re doing math or solving some cosmic conundrum. These kids, who value education and learning above all else, may thrive in an educational camp that encourages and applauds their inquisitive nature. For a camp that will truly challenge your teens this summer, check out the brainiacs in these five blogs.

• iD Tech Camps Debuts Two Summer Programming Courses Using Kid-Friendly Scratch 2.0 from MIT
• Activ8 Summer Camps Prepare Kids to Do Better in School
• Take Advantage Of Vacation Months With Awesome Educational Summer Camps For Kids
• TOP 10 EDUCATIONAL SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS & TEENS
• From Surfing to Science: Summer Camp Guide 2013

Children with Special Needs
Children with special needs each have their own specific requirements. Parents of special needs teens obviously want them to have the best summer camp experience possible, which means finding a camp that can facilitate all their requirements. Whether your teen needs physical, emotional or mental support, you will find some great ideas for suitable summer camps in these five blogs.

• Summer programs for kids with special needs
• 19 More Summer Camps For Individuals With Special Needs
• How to Find a Summer Camp for Your Child with Special Needs
• How to Choose The Right Summer Camp for Your Special Needs Child
• Summer Camps for Special Needs Kids

Security and Insurance
No matter what your teens’ wants and needs are, their security and safety is always paramount. If you have legal, health or insurance concerns, then it is best to thoroughly vet every camp on your shortlist. These five legal-savvy blogs will help you make the right decision and ensure that your teens have a fun but safe time at summer camp.

• Insurance for A Teen’s Summer Trip Abroad
• Protecting Your Kids at Summer Camp
• Kids’ Summer Activities Could Equal Big Tax Break
• Top 10 Summer Camp Legal Tips
• Summer Safety

Source:  Babysitting.net

This is Abuse: Relationship Abuse

Spot the signs of when your relationship is abusive:

• Abuse in a relationship can happen to anyone.
• It's never ok.
• It can destroy your self-confidence, have a negative impact on your
  health and wellbeing and leave you feeling isolated and lonely. 

What is relationship abuse?

Abuse is not normal and never ok. If you are in a relationship with someone, you should feel loved, safe, respected and free to be yourself. There are different forms of abuse, which you can find out about here, but if your relationship leaves you feeling scared, intimidated or controlled, it’s possible you’re in an abusive relationship. Find out more about the issue, have your say and seek help here.

Thinking Teenagers

A new site for parents and teens!

Thinkingteenagers.tv is all about helping to inspire positive living, we see this as a good addition to great parenting. Think of it as giving your teenager a book of life, for insights, direction, and inspiration.  Most people like the idea of a good book, this is a slightly different form with more of an edge. 

Why not look at some of the chapters with your teenagers? It's different, informative and a great way to pick up on past conversations.

There are lots of great video interviews inside, some sad, some shocking, some informative and some inspirational.  Life’s diverse and we’ve tried to capture some of the important parts that might be relevant to your teenagers growing up.

Thinking Teenagers would be a great addition to your family for 2013.

Click here to view the chapters.

Follow Thinking Teenagers on Twitter.

Letting Go with Love and Confidence: Raising Responsible, Resilient, Self-Sufficient Teens in the 21st Century

By Kenneth Ginsberg MD and Susan Fitzgerald

A parenting guide to adolescence - a sensible and considerate resource for navigating your teen to adulthood, transforming a traditional time of strife into an opportunity for positive growth for both you and your child.

For parents, nurturing their teens to become healthy, well-adjusted adults seems more challenging now than ever before. There are many pressures for kids to grow up faster than they should. Here, renowned adolescent medicine specialist Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D., and award-winning journalist Susan FitzGerald offer parents a practical, thoughtful strategy for guiding children through all the turning points on the way to adulthood - the "whens" and "hows" of adolescence. 

Order on Amazon today!

Ginsburg says the trick is to know when to give your teen a little bit of rope and when to tighten it.

He suggests the following steps for parents:

1. Consider your teen’s temperament and unique developmental needs.
2. Listen respectfully to what your adolescent thinks she can handle and ask what guidance or support she seeks.
3. Invite her to develop a plan with you.
4. Generate a map of each step that needs to be mastered to gain the skills and confidence that will prepare her to meet the overall challenge.
5. Help her understand that she will continue to gain more independence and privileges as long as she continues to demonstrate responsibility. When she knows that your goal is to help her achieve her goal, she’ll be much less likely to complain that you are monitoring the process.

For more information and practical strategies for teens and parents, check out Ginsburg’s Web site, www.fosteringresilience.com.

Parenting Today's Kids

Recently I discovered a great new educational sites with articles and information that can benefit parents of kids, tweens and teens today!

Parenting Today's Kids

Fact.  Parents Need Help at the Intersection of Technology and Kids

At ParentingTodaysKids.com, we recognize that technology impacts how kids are growing up.  It can play a very influential role in the choice they make and the people they become.

We Are Parents Too

We are parents.  We get it.  If parents can understand technology today and learn how kids embrace consume and social using it, we increase our chances of protecting our kids and positively influencing them.

Our Goal

We spend so much time protecting and guiding our kids in the “real world”, but most of us can do a better job parenting in the virtual world and protecting our kids online.

Our goal at ParentingTodaysKids.com is to educate parents and to help them close the technology gap that exists between parents and kids in order to better protect them.

That’s why we’ve put together an expert panel focused on raising kids today, ranging from an attorney to a holistic parenting life coach.    Check out the Author’s section today to see the great experts who are here to help you better understand your kids and how they are using technology.

Join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Odd Girl Out (Newly Revised and Updated Edition)

Order today!

By Rachel Simmons 

Just in time for BACK TO SCHOOL!

REVISED AND UPDATED with new material on cyberbullying and helping girls handle the dangers of life online.


“Peels away the smiley surfaces of adolescent female society to expose one of girlhood’s dark secrets: the vicious psychological warfare waged every day in the halls of our middle schools and high schools.” — San Francisco Chronicle

When Odd Girl Out was first published, it became an instant bestseller and ignited a long-overdue conversation about the hidden culture of female bullying. Today, the dirty looks, taunting notes, jealousy and social exclusion that plague girls’ friendships have gained new momentum in cyberspace; we need fresh, innovative strategies to help our girls come through it all.

Reinforced by up-to-the-minute research and enlivened with real-life stories, this groundbreaking book continues to be the definitive resource illuminating the most pressing social issues facing girls today.

“Passionate and beautifully written. A significant contribution to our understanding of the psychology of girls.” — Michael Thompson, co-author of Raising Cain

“Cathartic to any teen or parent trying to find company.” –Detroit Free Press

An American School Board Journal Notable Book in Education

Includes a Reading Group guide and Teacher’s Guide

Order today on Amazon.

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.

Dear Lilly: From Father to Daughter: The Truth about Life, Love, and the World We Live In

Dear Lilly

By Peter Greyson

A father offers his advice, opinions, and the many useful stories gleaned from his past experiences in order to help his beloved daughter not only survive, but thrive in the dangerous and unpredictable world of young adulthood.

From the pen of a former abused child, drug addict, womanizing frat boy, and suicidal depressive, comes forth the emotionally stirring account of a young man's battle with crippling inner demons and his eventual road to enlightenment. Peter Greyson calls upon his wisdom as both father and school teacher to gently lead teenage girls through a maze of truth, deception, and adolescent uncertainty. Greyson's literary style sparkles with a youthful enthusiasm that will capture your heart and provide boundless inspiration.

Dear Lilly is a survival guide that offers the brutally honest male perspective to young women struggling for answers to life's deepest questions. Topics include:

• Boys lie
• What every guy wants from his girlfriend
• Tales from the drug world
• Everybody hurts
• High school exposed 

Order today on Amazon.

Sue Scheff: Science Games to Inspire your Kids

Janet Murray recently posted a fantastic Blog that offers parents free and exciting games to inspire their children. She asked me to share it with my readers. As summer is around the corner, here are some great ideas to help your children have fun while they are learning!

60 Free Science Games to Excite & 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 games.

Sue Scheff: 1001 Things Every Teen Should Know Before they Leave Home

By Harry H. Harrison

1001 Things Every Teen Should Know Before They Leave Home: (Or Else They'll Come Back)

Adult teens think they're ready to live on their own, but are they?Will they know how to pick a good room mate? Buy a car? Create a budget and actually live on one? From changing the oil to applying for jobs, best-selling author Harry H. Harrison, Jr. has compiled the definitive book for preparing your teen to live on their own. Or else they might come back!

Use the Amazon Box on the sidebar to find it fast and order today!

Sue Scheff: Family School Your Go-To Guide for School Success

Another great parenting website, School Family - your go-to-guide for school success offers a tremendous amount of educational articles, parenting tips, information to help you guide your way through your child’s school years. Here is one of their recent articles on helping your teen manage their time and money this summer.

Help Your Teen Budget Time, Money This Summer

For many teens, the summer paycheck is the first “real” money they’ve ever had. And some have a tendency to spend every cent they make on clothes, CDs, and entertainment.

You can teach your teen a valuable lesson by insisting that he make a budget for his money. Included in the budget should be a regular savings plan—both for things he’d like to buy in the near future (for example, a personal digital media player) and for college or other education after high school.

If he doesn’t have a summer job, perhaps you can find ways to help him earn some money this summer. He could offer to baby-sit, for example, or do chores for an older neighbor who can’t manage by herself.

While you’re at it, have your teen make a time budget, too. It’s normal for teens to lounge around. But when they spend day after day in front of the TV, they’ll be bored at best, and possibly even depressed. Besides, kids tend to get into trouble if they have too much time on their hands.

Teens respond well to choices. If your teen seems to show no interest in getting off the couch, give her a choice of things she might do: organize the family photo albums, take neighborhood kids to the pool in the afternoon, volunteer at an animal shelter. When you give teens projects to do, you not only help them manage their time—you keep them interested in life.

Copyright ©2009 Parent Institute

Sue Scheff: Social Networking for Younger Kids

Is your child, under the age of 13 and wanting to be part of Facebook or MySpace?

Check out a Social Networking site for younger kids to chat safely and parents to be involved.

Visit KiddzChat http://www.kiddzchat.com/default.aspx and explore the cool features your kids will enjoy and you will feel at ease.

Sue Scheff: School Counselors

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) supports school counselors' efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social and career development so they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. ASCA provides professional development, publications and other resources, research and advocacy to more than 25,000 professional school counselors around the globe.

Sue Scheff: Parents Guide to Middle School Years

By Joe Bruzzese

This fantastic book will hit the book shelves this week! Order on Amazon today - place the title in the Amazon Box on the side of the Blog.

Because today's children seem to grow up so fast, middle school has become the new high school. Concerns about homework, social issues, technology, and emotional health confront parents earlier than they would like or expect. Educator and parent Joe Bruzzese offers practical, empowering help for parents along with guidelines for their children, such as rules for using cell phones and tips for productive parent-teacher relationships.

This streamlined guide helps parents and their families move toward the goal of not just surviving, but thriving in the middle school years.

Click here to order today!

Sue Scheff: TeensHealth

TeensHealth offers great articles, thoughts, ideas and more for kids, parents and teens. They update their website frequently to keep up with today's generation of parenting. Visit www.teenshealth.org today!

Sue Scheff: Smart Parenting

Next Generation Parenting offers a vast amount of information for parents of all ages of children. Take a moment to get informed and learn new parenting skills as well as their Blog that brings you up to date parenting ideas!

Sue Scheff: It is March Already! Time to Start Planning Your Child's Summer Camp!

Camp Finders® is a free service which matches children ages 6-18 with appropriate overnight summer camps and teen programs.
Since 1994, Camp Finders® has personally visited approximately 175 sleepaway camps and various teen programs. During this time period, Camp Finders™ has been placing children in overnight camps and in the following teen programs: teen tours; wilderness camps & outdoor adventure; college enrichment; community service; sailing, SCUBA, & marine biology programs; foreign language programs and more...

For years CampFinders helped me find the most exciting, fun and educational camps for my son. Summer is just around the corner - find the camp that best fits your child's interests! It can be a great learning experience - meeting kids from all over the country!

Sue Scheff: Bullying - Free Webinar by Education.com

Bullying is part of your child’s life – find out how to reduce it in your neighborhood, at school, and online.

Education.com and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) invite all parents to participate in a powerful and free web seminar that will reveal common myths surrounding bullying, the real facts, and actions parents can take to reduce bullying. The web seminar will be delivered by renowned bullying expert Dr. Shelly Hymel, PhD who will present a highly interactive session with plenty of time devoted to answering participants’ questions. Don’t miss this event – chances are your child is experiencing bullying. This is your chance to find out how you can help.

When: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PST