Violence | Parenting Teens Blog

October 6, 2009

The Teen’s Brain

Filed under: abuse,addiction,ADHD,adolescents,Anxiety Disorder,behavior problems,bipolar disorder,body dysmorphic disorder,bullying,Carolina Springs Academy,Cross Creek Programs,Darrington Academy,date rape,depression,drinking,drnking,Dyslexia,eating disorder,emo,Gang involvement,grief,help for parents,Horizon Academy,interventions,Ivy Ridge Academy,learning disability,Majestic Ranch Academy,Midwest Academy,obesity,Obsessive compulsive disorder,oppositional defiant disorder,oral hygiene,Parent Support Groups,parenting teens,Red River Academy,Royal Gorge Academy,self-harming,sex adiction,smoking,special education,Specialty Boarding Schools,Spring Creek Lodge,step-families,substance abuse,suicide,teen behaviors,Teen Depression,Teen Drug Abuse,Teen Health,Teen Help,Teen Inspiration,Teen Pregnancy,teen safety,teen sex,tic disorder,tourette's syndrome,Uncategorized,violence — Tags: adolescent, alcohol, brain development, drugs, guns, parenting, risk, sex, teen death, teenagers — admin @ 10:14 am

Today’s teenagers have been stereotyped as adventurous and harebrained individuals. They are generally fond of experimenting with things until they get in touch with drugs, sex, guns, alcohol among others. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, 16,000 young adults die each year from unintentional injuries and accidents. The most common justification for teenagers’ care-free attitude is that their brains just aren’t developed enough to know better. However, recent research shows that in some cases the fact is just the opposite, the brain matures not too slowly but perhaps, too quickly.

According to a psychiatrist, an adolescent who engages in more dangerous activities have white-matter pathways that seem to be more mature than those of risk-averse youths. White-matter is the brain’s wiring, the neutral pathways that connect the various gray-matter regions of the cerebrum that are independent of one another. Having a mature white-matter is necessary because it allows faster brain processing speed. Nerve impulses also travel faster in mature white-matter. Experiments also reveal that the more mature the look of the brain, the more adventurous the teenager tended to be.
Another possible explanation is that some teenagers whose brains develop more rapidly than others become uncomfortable and a little confused owing to the gap between their biological capabilities and the social norms they must follow as kids. Precocious development of these neural tracts may make some adolescents more susceptible to engage in behaviors that society considers too adult in nature for their chronological age. It is also a common notion that teens make dumb decisions because their brains are immature. In other words, having a more mature brain may actually motivate some teens to try out new and potentially harmful experiences.
For now, these theories are mere speculation, and the researchers concede that the interaction of white and gray matter is so complex that hard conclusions remain elusive. The results of the study are relatively bare and by no means conclusive. The human brain is so intricate in nature, and one has to consider the fact that there are other factors that come into play such as the environment and certain genetic predispositions that are equally complex to study.

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September 29, 2009

Teen Guilty in the Murder of Own Father

Filed under: abuse,adolescents,Anxiety Disorder,attachment disorder,behavior problems,bullying,depression,Gang involvement,grief,help for parents,Parent Support Groups,parenting teens,step-families,teen behaviors,Teen Depression,Teen Help,violence — Tags: adolescent, death, family, father, gangs, justice, juvenile, Murder, social, teen, teenagers, violence, young adults — admin @ 11:18 am

Just recently, CNN reported a heart-breaking news about a Berkeley teen who was convicted in the murder of his father. The victim was raising three kids on his own when one of them, for reasons unknown, murdered him with a gunshot to the head. The judge handling the case found the 16-year-old teen guilty of first-degree murder with an enhancement for using a gun in the death of his 40-year-old father.

When the teen was sentenced, the judge could have him locked up in the California Division of Juvenile Justice until he reaches the age of 25. He could also face a variety of other sentences, including being placed on probation and sent home, being sent to a group home or placed in minimum security reform centers. Regardless of what happens, a life was lost and the life of the teenager and those of his siblings are put in jeopardy with the uneventful passing of their father who is supposed to guide them in today’s chaotic environment.

Teen violence is increasingly becoming one of the most serious problems of modern society. It is a curse not only for the victim but for his/her family and the entire society as well. It is also responsible for thousands of deaths every year around the world. This kind of violence alienates the victim from his/her family, friends and loved ones. Teenagers who engage in violence, generally try to keep themselves away from everyone. Psychologists explain that they do so for the sake of getting away from social embarrassment. Teen abuse lawyers advocate that the victim must get proper legal support at such delicate phase of her/his life.

Young adults are complicated, inquisitive, and filled with potential. Once left unchecked, they can blow up in a million pieces, causing problems resulting to irreparable damage or even death. This is precisely the reason why parents are endowed with the moral obligation to guide their teens during this crucial stage in their lives.

Oftentimes teenagers find their peer groups to be more significant to them than their parents. This being the case, it is as if parents are handling over the life of their teen to the type of group he/she may belong to. With this change come different expectations. This is why friends are such a key developmental and influential factor in the teenage years. Many teens who get involved in gangs are simply trying to live out their new group’s expectations rather than their parents’. Adolescents are all on an equal plane when it comes to violent behavior. Regardless of background, almost all adolescents become significantly more violent after puberty and it drops off again somewhere in their mid-20s.

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September 24, 2009

How to Talk to Your Children About 9/11

Filed under: ADHD,adolescents,Asperger's Syndrome,attachment disorder,behavior problems,Gang involvement,grief,help for parents,parenting teens,violence — Tags: 9/11, anxiety, children, loved ones, media, parenting, people, shield children from information, talking, teens, to children, tragic, yound adults — admin @ 8:09 pm

If we can only get rid of memories of traumatic events maybe it can diminish distress especially among our children and young adults. Such is not the case because we are not programmed to do so. Remembering what transpired on 9/11 can be a lot more difficult and painful especially among those who lost a loved one or for those who were directly impacted by that tragic day when terrorists struck fear and anxiety into the hearts of people from all corners of the globe. Moreover, media coverage commemorating the events in a detailed manner may heighten distress or indifference among our children.
So the question is, how can parents explain something so gruesome and traumatic to their children? Parents can’t shield their children from acquiring information about what is so significant about 9/11. It is a thing of the past but it definitely left an indelible mark in history and on the eight anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, as publication of news and photos of that tragic day find their way to our newspapers, television screens and the Internet, parents are dumbfounded about the manner on how they can explain to their children this hard and complex subject.
There are certain tips which may help all concerned parents on this particular issue. The first thing to do is to try to relax while discussing the topic. You have to consider the fact that talking about violent acts won’t increase your children’s fear any more than harbor anxiety about the unknown. Try to determine and feel what your child already knows about the event so you can somehow gauge the impact of the information you want to discuss thereby establishing the parameters of the subsequent conversation.
Try to be as transparent and honest as possible although you can opt to refrain from providing detailed information. Children are generally smart, they can sense when they are being lied to or when you’re withdrawing something from them. It’s not appropriate to eliminate your children’s fear but a thorough explanation should be given to assure them somehow that there is nothing to be afraid of as government authorities are trying to find ways to protect the nation’s citizenry against another horrible event. Just make sure that your children are interested about the flow of the conversation, otherwise it’s better to drop the topic. Your children may not yet want or need to discuss the event at this particular period but they will certainly bring it out sooner or later.
Parents ought to be very careful when discussing traumatic events to their children and young adults especially those with acts of terrorism such as 9/11 because you are not certain how they will interpret and react on such sensitive subject matters.

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June 26, 2008

Childhood aggression can lead to alcohol abuse

Filed under: abuse,drinking,substance abuse,violence — admin @ 3:05 pm

Continual aggressive behavior from childhood through late adolescence is a significant predictor of adult alcohol use and abuse, a new University of Michigan study indicates.

In comparison to childhood and adolescent aggression, some variables often thought of as risk factors, such as problems in the family and parents’ poor educational background, are weak predictors of children drinking alcohol later in life as adults, said the study’s lead author Eric Dubow, an adjunct research scientist at U-M’s Institute for Social Research.

U-M researchers used data from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a 40-year project of the development of aggression and competence across generations. The study sampled third graders in Columbia County, NY in 1960, then age 8, until 2000 when they were age 48.

Data collected on the study’s participants included measures of aggression, popularity, and IQ tests at age 8; assessment of aggression, popularity, depression and educational attainment at age 19; and reports of alcohol use and problem drinking at ages 30 and 48.

By age 30, men reported a higher frequency and quantity of alcohol use—on average approximately 2 to 4 times a week, 3 to 4 drinks per sitting—compared with females, who consumed alcohol on average once per week, 3 drinks per sitting.

However, at ages 30 and 48, both males and females who had been high on aggression earlier in life reported significantly more alcohol use and problems with alcohol. Participants were not asked to specify if the beverage was liquor, beer, or wine.

The study also found that two sets of variables traditionally viewed as protective factors in the development of problem behavior actually increased the likelihood of alcohol use or alcohol problems.

Source article: www.emaxhealth.com

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June 17, 2008

Kids and violence

Filed under: violence — admin @ 2:54 pm

We are all privy to the fact that teen violence is a very big social problem, not just in the U.S but in every part of the globe. For example in the U.K, happy slapping is a very popular “game” that teens play. It involves slapping people, usually unsuspecting victims that are just minding their own business, and recording the whole incident with a mobile phone camera to be uploaded to video hosting websites such as youtube. In Asia, Africa and the Middle East children are being trained and turned into soldiers, sometimes they even carry out suicide bombing missions.

The situations between kids from first world countries like the U.S and the U.K and war torn third world nations are very different but there is one central theme that pervades the thought and that is kids are being exposed to violence whether they choose to or not. Some kids choose to be violent even if they don’t have to some are just thrown into the firing lines even before they realize why. The question is why? Why do they need to participate? Why would they want to participate?

There are so many questions that can be raised with regards to why these things happen, but the most important question to ask now is what are we going to do to stop this cycle of violence before it turns the next generation into cold blooded, remorseless villains who do not value life. It’s time to solve the problems, I mean we already know the solutions it’s just a matter of enforcing them.

Science and technology would and should play a big part in this solution and everyone who has access to it should at least try and help. Helping is as easy as spreading the right information and sharing knowledge and resources. A good place to start is inside you’re own home, tell you’re kids about the ill effects of violence and let them know that there are better alternatives. Another way to help stop violence from spreading is to develop self control, people can even get professional help if it is available.

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