An attitude of gratitude - year round

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So, Thanksgiving has passed and the Facebook "thankful lists" may have waned a bit.  The holiday season and Black Friday shopping has gone into full force. 

How is the "thankful meter" in your home today? Do your kids have an attitude of thankfulness year round?  Are you modeling this attitude for them?

You can't force a person be thankful.  You can't nag your kids into an attitude of gratitude.  Besides, who likes a nag, right?!  But...there are various positive ways to model and help instill an attitude of thankfulness in kids.

Teachable moments are everywhere.  Opportunities throughout each day that present themselves as ways to create an environment of gratitude.

Learning how others around the world live is one way to remind ourselves and our children how much most of us really do have to be thankful for.

Did you know?:

A 5 minute shower uses approximately 10 gallons of water.  In developing countries, the average person uses 5 gallons or less per day. 

Not only is that true, but it is an interesting fact that reminds those of us with long hot showers what we have.

If you feel that thankfulness is a distant relative in your home, here are a few ways to help foster an attitude of gratitude:

1. Encourage kids to keep a daily thankful journal.
2. As a family, experience a day without some luxuries that you are accustomed to. example #1 Store 5 gallons of water in jugs/bottles and use only that during a day to experience how other people around the world live.  example #2 Eat only rice and beans one day - all 3 meals.
3. Cut down on the complaining. Break the habit of complaining and go 24 hours without complaining even one time.
4. Don't overindulge. There are many ways to truly learn the value of a dollar.  Have kids earn some of the luxuries they think they "need" by doing chores, selling items they no longer use, getting a job, etc. 
5. Encourage a spirit of giving. Find ways to serve and give to others as a family. Serve at a soup kitchen.  Cut down on gift spending and give to a favorite charity.
6. Help [them] understand that gifts are thoughtful gestures, not just a way for him to score materialistic gain," says Claire Lerner - a child development specialist.

So, two days after Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for TODAY?

Substance abuse, teens and a free event!

Do you know if your child has experimented with drugs or alcohol?  Is he/she showing signs of abuse or addiction?  Would you know what those signs look like?

We, at A Positive Approach to Teen Health help are committed to educating and empowering teens to make healthy choices and we also want to help you - parents and guardians. In today's culture, there are so many issues to be aware of and informed about as a parent of a teenager.  Substance abuse is one of those issues.

The Office of Adolescent Health reports:

• In the past month, 40 percent of high school seniors reported drinking some alcohol, almost 15 percent of adolescents abused marijuana, and 13 percent of adolescents reported smoking cigarettes. 

• By the twelfth grade, about half of adolescents have abused an illicit drug at least once. The most commonly used drug is marijuana but adolescents can find many abused substances, such as prescription medications, glues, and aerosols, in the home.

• Within the past month, four out of 10 high school seniors report drinking some alcohol and more than one in three have engaged in “binge drinking".

Join us as community members and parents unite in BREAKING THE SILENCE about substance abuse and addiction issues. Hear from parents and children who have overcome and are ready to share their struggles, fears, and hopes for the future.

Learn the signs of substance abuse and ways to communicate with your teen about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. We hope you will take join us in this important (free) event that could save a future and/or a life. 

Get more information and register here.

HPV, the vaccine and your teens/tweens

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Did you know that HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) and is also the leading cause for cervical cancer.  99.9% of cervical cancers are due to complications from HPV. 

"There are more than 40 types of HPV than can infect the genital areas of males and females.  These HPV types can also infect the mouth and throat [due to oral sex]." (source, CDC.)

Unfortunately, like many other STIs/STDs, many people who are infected with HPV may not even know they have it.  This is a huge problem! Many adolescents are having unprotected sex and DO NOT KNOW that their parter has HPV because the partner MAY NOT EVEN KNOW that they have it.


Sometimes the infection goes away on it's own, but other times it can lead to various health problems such as genital warts and cancers.  Screening tests are only recommended for women over age 30 (not for adolescents, men or women under age 30).  In addition, there are no approved tests that check for HPV in the mouth or throat.  

In recent years, vaccines have been developed with intention to "help prevent" HPV.  Two vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil) are recommended for 11-12 year old boys and girls and can be given to girls beginning at the age of 9.  Gardasil has been made available and recommended for boys as young as 11 and 12 years old.  

In various new reports, the lead researcher in the development of the HPV vaccines is ironically "pressing the red alert button on the devastating consequences and irrelevancy of these vaccines," (source FEELguide).

This same report cites an excerpt from a story by Sara Cain:

"So far, 15,037 girls have reported adverse side effects from Gardasil™ alone to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), and this number only reflects parents who underwent the hurdles required for reporting adverse reactions.  At the time of writing, 44 girls are officially known to have died from these vaccines."

The developer of the vaccine, Dr. Harper, stated that she finally spoke out so that she could sleep at night. 

What does this lead us, as parents, to do?

* Do our own research to protect our kids and don't always just take the 
   "expert's" word for it. 
* Understand the risks and prevalence of STIs and STDs.
* Help educate and encourage our kids regarding healthy life choices.

So, could you go without it for 24 hours? Part 2

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Last week, we posted this challenge for families to go wireless (or completely unplugged - if you will) and give up media for 24 hours.  (Don't worry if you missed that post or if you weren't able to do it.  There's always tomorrow).

The idea behind the challenge is obviously to encourage families to reconnect with each other and take a break from the constant media overload that may be affecting relationships.  Many studies point to  the fact that consistent media intake and/or addiction is affecting our habits, schedules and relationships. 

A recent article by WIRED magazine stated that mobile users check their smartphones an average of 150 times a day.  When you do the math, that equals out to be once every six-and-half minutes.  Wow! That's a lot of time and a lot of checking.  

In addition, the Huffington Post reports the findings of a few studies pointing to the idea that the addiction to social media may be as strong, or stronger, than that of substances like nicotine.  The study from University of Chicago's Booth School of Business published the finding from a report of 205 adults in Germany.  Over the course of a week, the highest rate of  their "self-control failures" was tied to social media sites, per The Guardian. 

Finally, in another study about smartphone addiction, it is revealed that:

• 30% of participants say they check their phones while at a meal with another person
• 40% check their smartphone while on the toilet
• 9% check it during a religious service
• 54% check it before they go to bed, while in bed, in the middle of the night or as soon as they wake up 

Does the ding of a new email and the lure of a Tweet have that much of a control over us?!  We may only know that if we try to do without it?! 

Whether or not you took the challenge from last week, it may be time to break some bad {media} habits and offer your undivided attention to those you love the most. Check out our challenge from last week here.