Distracted Driving Awareness Month: Choose Not to Look

Did you know that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month?!  This article was released earlier this month on Yahoo.  The image in the article contains the last text a 22 year old Colorado man, with a spotless driving record, was sending as he drifted into oncoming traffic.  He lost his life shortly after.  His grieving parents want the image to serve as an important reminder to all drivers Sadly, this story is not uncommon.  Distracted drivers are everywhere and using technology while driving has become far too common, and even deadly in many incidents. Even those of us who are ademately against texting or checking other sources of technology while driving, can easily be tempted to just check that text really quickly or respond to the "ding" when our device alerts us of a new email.  Choose not to look! All it takes is a second of distraction to cause a lifetime of pain for yourself, your family or someone else.  A second can cost a life.  Choose not to look! In Indiana, specifically, there are a few state laws regarding phones and driving: 1. Ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for novice drivers (Primary law) 2. Ban on texting for ALL drivers (Primary law) Allow the awareness this month to serve as a reminder to teen drivers and everyone in your family.  It's a conversation worth having.  Not only is texting while driving extremely unsafe,  it is against the law.

Earth Day

                                                                          photo source

"In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history."

 (U.S. EPA, 2009. Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead, web source)

Today is Earth Day.  Some may write it off thinking that it's only for the "tree huggers" or the extreme.  Sometimes, even for those who are more environmentally minded, taking steps at home to help the environment can seem like a drop in the bucket.

It's a great opportunity, however, to teach our kids of all ages about not only resourcefulness, but also looking beyond themselves to care about their "neighbors" and future generations.

Earth Day is also a great time as a family to participate in community activities that focus on environmental efforts.  Most communities have activities planned where people can lend a helping hand and plant a tree, recycle or pick up litter, etc.  Many individuals, families, organizations and even businesses are taking steps towards being more "green".

There are so many ideas out there for upcycling or repurposing things that you already have in your home.  Remember, no effort is too small!

What are some creative ideas your family has to recycle, repurpose or upcycle?  

Controversial health news released

photo source

Last week, some very controversial health news was announced in our nation.  A judge ruled that all girls under the age of 17 would now be able to purchase the drug that's been called "the morning after pill", without a prescription.  That means young girls can buy this as easily as they could buy their daily multi vitamin or aspirin over the counter.

This ruling overturned a 2011 decree made by the Obama administration that ruled it should not be made available over the counter to anyone under the age of 17.

This pill is not to be confused with the Rd 486 or "abortion pill".  This pill contains hormones that is in many birth control pills, but in a higher dosage.  It is said to prevent unwanted pregnancies.  It can, however, can terminate a very early pregnancy.

Another one of the major public concerns is whether the availability of this pill could encourage more sexual activity among teens and even tweens?

In an ABC news broadcast, Dr. Richard Besser stated, "I'm a parent of teenagers and I'm a pediatrician and one thing I know is far more teens are having sex than parents know or believe".

Unfortunately, this is the case, but is the mentality, "they are going to do it anyway, why not help them protect themselves?!", the best way to deal with this?  Should we then raise the speed limit too 100mph because people are going to speed anyway?! Maybe we have lost all faith that we can help our kids make positive and/or safer choices and use self-control?!

Here a some obvious concerns regarding this issue:

::Is it safe for young girls to administer a higher dosage hormone to themselves possibly without parental consent or medical supervision? 

::Is the issue regarding teen choices about sex really based on availability of a new pill (or other form of contraception) or the conversations and values at home?!

::What are the long term health impacts of this drug?

::What moral implications does this drug have on society?

We would love to hear from parents.  What are your thoughts regarding this new ruling?

Registration is closing today!

This is just a reminder that we would love to have you join us at the American Teens in Crisis Conference next Tuesday, April 16.  Registration closes today.  

Please come join us as we explore the topic of Myth vs. Fact and present statistics to expose the trends, dangers, and consequences of high-risk behaviors among today's teens.  Come be informed!

Click here for more details and to register.  

The power of choice

Choices.  We all are faced with them and we all make them - daily. Big and small.  

What should I wear? Should I eat this or that? Should I date? Who should I date?  What should I major in?  Should I take that job?  Sometimes we make good choices, sometimes we make poor ones. 

Because the brain is not yet fully developed until the early 20's, children and teens typically tend to make decisions based on impulse, rather than forward thinking.  The "what's best for the moment?" approach, rather than "how will this effect my future?"  Parents, however, can help teach their children to be more thoughtful about their decisions and the outcomes.

P.A.T.H has an after school mentoring curriculum which contains a section entitled, The Five Parts of the Whole Person.  The diagram shown below is a great visual of how our decisions can affect many aspects of our lives.

Consider some of the important choices that kids are faced with such as dating/relationships, bullying, drugs, cheating and alcohol.  Take a moment to think about how each of these five circles (five areas of life) are affected by the choices kids make regarding these issues.

The Five Parts of the Whole Person visual:

How often have you heard people say something like, "I'm not hurting anyone, it's my own issue".  Our choices rarely (if ever) affect only ourselves nor do they typically only affect one part of our person.

Parents play a huge role in helping kids learn how to make positive decisions.  Good decision making skills do not come easily, but with help from parents, kids can learn to make decisions that will be beneficial to each aspect of their life: physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, and emotionally.

Here are a few additional questions parents can use to help their children to hink about when making decisions:

*What are the consequences of my decision - short term and long term?  
*What are the benefits?  
*Who is going to be affected by my decision?  
*How is this decision going to affect my future?
*Is this decision going to help me accomplish my goals?

Parents, how are your decision making skills affecting your children and family?

You're invited!

Parents, you're invited!  P.A.T.H. is hosting The American Teens in Crisis conference, which will be held next week in Valparaiso, Indiana.  The focus will be on teen health as it relates to peer and family relationships, schools, community and media.  

Most parents feel that they no longer have any influence over their teens.  In fact, a survey states that despite what parents may believe, 46% of teens say that their parents are the most influential factor on their decisions regarding sex.  

The focus of this conference will be to inform attendees on the topic of myth vs. fact.  Please make plans to join us as we explore this topic and present statistics to expose the trends, dangers, and consequences of high-risk behaviors among today's teens.   

Click here to find out more and to register. We hope to see you there!

Welcome!

Welcome to Planned Potential for Parents.  We are glad you have joined us here! If you are new to A Positive Approach to Teen Health (P.A.T.H.), you can check us out here at our main website.

Being a teenager these days is not easy... nor is parenthood.  Our staff spends a lot of time in classrooms and other venues educating, encouraging and informing young people every day as they face challenging and what can many times be life changing issues and decisions.  In fact, the mission of P.A.T.H is to equip, empower and encourage teens to make healthy choices through life skills, relationship and character building education.

Though the main purpose of P.A.T.H. is to equip young people with the information and tools they need to make healthy choices, we know that they cannot fully do that without a strong support system at home.  As the saying goes, "it takes a village to raise a child".  As an attempt to be a part of your village, we have created this blog as a place for you to come with your questions and concerns about issues that you and your child may be facing and how you can walk together through them.  We would also love to have your input and encouragement to offer other parents.

Through a collaborative effort from our trained and experienced staff (as many of us are parents ourselves), we will do our best to offer you insight, encouragement, the latest statistics and information about the issues that your kids may be faced with each day.

We hope you will come back to "visit" us as we continue to add weekly posts that we believe will be relevant to the place in life you are at as a parent.