Category: Blog

Parents are often overwhelmed by the constant changes and advancements in technology. The truth is parents of teens and pre-teens don’t have to be tech savvy in order to help their kids be digitally responsible. Parenting in the digital age requires these four acts of L-O-V-E:

L is for Limits! Limit the amount of time online and on the phone. Have a check in station upon arrival home for all electronic equipment.

O is for Overemphasize! Overemphasize the seriousness and consequences of sending text messages or pictures over the internet or cell phone.

V is for View! View what your teen is posting. Ask them their views on what they consider public and private and discuss it.

E is for Expectations! Be clear about your expectations. Let your teen know what you consider to be appropriate and inappropriate behavior when it comes to internet and cell phone use.

Parents interested in gaining additional skills in talking to their teens and pre-teens about cyber safety are invited to register for the Talk Early & Talk Often℠ Parent Connection Conference. The conference is being held on March 2, 2013 in Livonia, Michigan for parents of middle and high school aged youth. The workshop, Is Sexting, Texting and Social Media Hurting our Teens?, will help parents become aware of the benefits and pitfalls of digital connectivity in their teens life. This conference will be the first ever sex education conference exclusively for parents. For additional information and to register, visit www.parentactionforhealthykids.org.

When on Twitter, be sure to use the hashtag #TPCC2013 when tweeting about conference, or when looking for tweets about conference.

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Barb Flis, Founder of Parent Action for Healthy Kids, is an advocate for parents and a published parenting and children’s health expert. Her focus lies in connecting families, schools and communities for the purpose of promoting the well-being of children’s social, emotional and physical health. Her “parent-to-parent” approach has garnered her much praise and national media attention. Visit http://www.ParentActionForHealthyKids.org for more information.

Posted January 30th, 2013

The teen brain is mysterious. Parents often stand in disbelief as their teen’s behavior fluctuates from acting like a 22 year old one second to a 2 year old the next.  Believe it or not, this is actually normal behavior.  The teen brain is still under construction and differs greatly from an adult’s in the way it makes decisions and solves problems.

There are three main areas of the brain that are struggling to grow, interact, connect and develop during the teen years.  These three areas of the brain make up the pre-frontal lobes.  The pre-frontal lobes regulate logic, common sense, judgment, reality, and problem solving.  All of these skills are part of the journey that will continue until the mid-twenties when hopefully the brain becomes fully developed as an “adult brain.”

A perfect example of a teen brain under construction is 21 year old Manti Te’o!  Spoken like a true parent, Manti’s dad, said on Katie Couric’s show, “he’s not a liar; he’s a kid.”   Until a teen’s brain is fully developed they will struggle to develop mature problem solving skills and will make bad decisions.  Due to hormone surges there are a lot of emotional mood swings and struggles with sorting reality from fiction.

It may not always be easy, but a parent is still the biggest influence in a teen’s life and does not have to stand idly by. Parent Action for Healthy Kids offers these 5 tips for parents to help their teens make healthy choices while their brains are still under construction:

1.  Provide lots of physical contact, from hugs to rough housing;
2. Speak and show love as much as possible;
3. Constantly nurture by protecting, supporting and encouraging;
4. Communicate clearly without yelling and lecturing;
5. Allow teens to face logical consequences whenever possible.

Parents who would like to gain more knowledge about the adolescent brain, as it relates to sexual behavior and decision making, are invited to register for the Talk Early & Talk Often℠ Parent Connection Conference. The conference is being held on March 2, 2013 in Livonia, Michigan for parents of middle and high school aged youth. The keynote address, The Adolescent Brain: Under Construction, will humorously explore the mysteries of the adolescent brain. This conference will be the first ever sex education conference exclusively for parents. For additional information and to register, visit www.parentactionforhealthykids.org.

Be sure to use the hashtag #TPCC2013 when tweeting about the conference, or when looking for tweets about the conference.

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Parent Action for Healthy Kids, with support from the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Michigan Department of Education, is excited to announce the first ever sex education conference designed just for parents. Parents are the primary sexuality educators of their children and yet talking early and often about sex can be a real challenge for parents. The Talk Early & Talk Often℠ Parent Connection Conference will offer parents of middle and high school aged youth the opportunity to learn how to talk to their children about sex. The conference, loaded with workshops, will highlight the facts about sexually transmitted diseases, how to navigate through sexting, texting and social media, how parents can work together to support effective sex education and much more.

This first of its kind conference is the brainchild of Barb Flis, Founder of Parent Action for Healthy Kids.  Flis’ track record for parent workshops, webinars and trainings debunks the myth that parents don’t support sex education.
“Hosting a sex ed conference exclusively for parents has been a dream of mine since I first started working with parents on this topic,” said Flis.  “For nearly two decades I have been hearing from parents that they want more content and more information.  More than anything parents have said they want to connect with other parents for support. They are thirsty for information, and this conference will finally give them exactly what they are asking for.”

The conference keynote address, The Adolescent Brain:  Under Construction, will humorously explore the mysteries of the adolescent brain and how the adult and adolescent brain are different.  Also, for parents who want to hear the real deal unfiltered, the conference will close with a panel of teens engaging parents in an honest conversation about how to make the most out of parent/teen relationships. The keynote, youth panel, as well as conference workshops, will provide parents with the knowledge and skills necessary to help their children make it through adolescence.

The conference will take place Saturday, March 2, 2013 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the VisTaTech Center – Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Michigan. Conference fee is $25 / $35 after January 21.  Parents must pre-register; there will be no on-site registration the day of the event.  The conference includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

A pre-conference workshop, Roles & Responsibilities When Serving on Your School’s Sex Education Advisory Board, will be held on Friday, March 1, 2013 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the VisTaTech Center – Schoolcraft College. The Pre-Conference is intended for parents who serve on a Sex Education Advisory Board (SEAB), or would like to learn more about the SEAB’s roles and responsibilities.  Pre-Conference registration is $25 and includes dinner.
Visit www.parentactionforhealthykids.org for conference information and to register.  Be sure to use the hashtag #TPCC2013 when tweeting about conference, or when looking for tweets about conference.

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Talk Early & Talk Often℠ (TETO) was developed by Parent Action for Healthy Kids with support from the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Michigan Department of Education.  Since its roll out in 2005, it has received high praise from parents and media. The initiative has now expanded from workshops across the state of Michigan to a conference exclusively for parents in March 2013 and a growing social network for parents. The Talk Early & Talk Often Parent Connection Conference will be held in Livonia, Michigan.

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