Bullies Beware

Bullies Beware

Bullying is a common phenomenon with kids and adolescents. Statistics reveal that 30% of the youth population in the US has either been bullied or has bullied others. Both males and females are bullies, but studies show that males tend to be more physical in their bullying. Females taunt their victims on their looks or spread nasty rumors, while males hit, slap or push.

Contrary to popular belief, many bullies are not self-loathing cowards, taking out their insecurities on others. Most bullies are kids who are brought up without empathy for others. They feel a need to dominate others, and many learn to be aggressive from their parents. Further studies indicate that bullies are more violent than their peers, and more likely to participate in harmful behaviors such as smoking and drinking.

Bullying can be traumatic and contribute to low self-esteem, anxiousness, and isolating for the victim. It’s important for parents to encourage their kids to stand up against bullies to avoid becoming the victim. Being bullied can result in poor social skills and can affect performance in school. Bullying often takes at schools where there is little or no supervision. Therefore, parents need to ensure that their kids are in a safe environment with strict rules against bullying.

Teen Cell Phone Use Banned

Effective July 1, 2008, California drivers will be prohibited from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle. While motorists 18 and over may use a hands-free device, teen drivers under the age of 18 may not use a wireless telephone, pager, laptop or any other such device, even a hands-free device, to speak or text while operating a motor vehicle.

Reckless Advertising Directed At Teens

Reckless Advertising

Are teens targeted by advertising campaigns for tobacco and alcohol products? The simple answer is: There is no simple answer. Advertisements are designed to have mass appeal. They find a way to target a broad audience. Their specific demographic may be young, adult men, but they may also appeal to adolescent males who want to feel more “grown-up.” In this sense, the advertisement is indirectly targeting a teen-aged audience. The lifestyle of the smoker/drinker is glamorized in the commercial. It seems like robotic think, but it works: If I drink that brand of beer I too can be the “World’s Most Interesting Man.” If I smoke those cigarettes, I too can be a “Marlboro Man.” Adolescents are trying to fit in and are easily influenced by images. Couple that with raging hormones, and it’s no wonder that advertising companies use sex to sell their products. Think about all of the products that are out there that have teen appeal. You have fruit-flavored cigars and energy drinks with an alcoholic kick. They throw out names for their products like Joose, Sparks, and Tilt all wrapped up in colorful packages, attracting both the palate but the eye. So, yes, teens are targeted by advertising for alcohol and tobacco. The companies have to know the audience they are reaching and must realize that they are planting a seed for future consumers.

Fake Prescriptions for Kids

Controversial placebo designed to placate children.

clipped from www.momlogic.com Trick Your Kids With Pills One step beyond "Mommy will kiss it and make it all better"--a new placebo pill goes on the market in June. Is your kid a tiny hypochondriac begging for sympathy for non-existent aches and pains? Give them a pill--a fake one. A controversial "medication" Obecalp  (placebo spelled backwards) is being marketed to parents who want to make their kids feel better--if there's nothing really wrong with them-- with a sugar pill. The pills, 50 tablets for $5.95, will be available next week on the Efficacy Brands website. Beyond the ridiculousness of paying for pills that don't do anything, pediatrician and friend of momlogic Dr. Gwenn thinks "fake medicine" is a bitter pill to swallow. She suggests parents should "avoid tactics that trick the child into thinking he is getting a medication because it sends the wrong message."

Serving Your Head on a Silver Platter

As a kid my parents talked to me about drugs, sex and their expectations regarding these matters. It went something like this, "If I ever catch you doing ____ I will serve your head on a silver platter. The image of my head on a silver platter was firmly set in my mind. The list of what I should not do was quite clear.

As a parent I have a similar and growing list of what I do not want my kids involved in. Today's dangers can seem far more threatening, the losses far more serious and sometimes very permanent and even more tragic. When I read the news I am terrified by stories of children with household inhalants, the internet's myspace pages and sexual predators, school shootings, prescription drug abuse, cough syrup abuse, date rape drugs, sorting out the potential threats to your children is downright frightening.

Add on to this the firsthand experience seeing a number of the brightest minds of my generation lost to addiction, death or more subtle still, the individuals stifled by recreational drug use slowly eroding their potential, stealing their ambition and drive, and ultimately undermining their character development therefore weakening them for the challenges life naturally brings.

My desire for my children to be free from these dangers only grows.

• How do we protect them?


• How to we let them know how important is it for them to stay safe from these dangers?


• How do we tell them that listening to us on this subject is so very important?


• How do we warn them that ONE foolish decision, that only takes a moment to make, can affect them for the rest of their lives?


• How do we alert them to a world with these dangers without instilling unnecessary fear?

As much as I distinctly remember the "silver platter threat" I also remember thinking, "Geez I can't do this, I can't go there, I can't stay out with my friends ... what do I get to do!"

In retrospect, I wonder if my parents had discussed topics such as drug use and sex in terms of what they wanted for me, instead of in terms of fear and what they didn't want for me?

Instead of saying: "If you are caught doing drugs I will serve your head on a silver platter." What if you shared your dreams for your child and made it repeatedly clear that drug use and risky behavior can and will steal it all away.

I don't want you to ____(smoke pot for example) because:

• I want you to be healthy.


• I want you to have friends who encourage you to be the best that you can be.


• I wish for you to be truly free.


• I want you to develop the gift of self-discipline (defined as the ability to take action regardless of your emotional state).


• I want you to be proud of who you are.


• I want you to be truthful (especially with yourself).

... just to name a few.

Marijuana Increases Risk of Depression for Teens

Parents must be alerted to the dangers of teen marijuana use. Identified as a "gateway drug" marijuana is also cited as a contributor to depression and other mental illnesses. The teen years are often characterized by moodiness and experimentation. Parents should not shrug the dangers of experimentation and be vigilant in their observations of their teen.

Warning signs include:

• excessive moodiness
• carelessness in grooming habits
• change in friends
• withdrawl from family

"Mental Health Awareness Month, shows a staggering two million teens felt depressed at some point during the past year, and depressed teens are more than twice as likely as non-depressed teens to have used marijuana during that same period."

Many teens turn to marijuana to self-medicate for feelings of depression. While the use of marijuana by teens has decreased marijuana remains the illegal drug of choice for many teens.

Although marijuana use among teens has dropped by 25 percent since 2001, more teens use marijuana than all other illicit drugs combined. The new report, "Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse," shows the following:

• Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users;
• Using marijuana can cause depression and other mental illnesses;
• The percentage of depressed teens is equal to the percentage of depressed adults, but depressed teens are more likely than depressed adults to use marijuana and other illicit drugs;
• Teen girls who use marijuana daily are more likely to develop depression than girls who do not use marijuana;
• Depressed teens are also more likely than non-depressed teens to engage in other risky behaviors such as daily cigarette use and heavy alcohol use.

Teen Drinking Problems Illicit New Laws in Orange County

Today in the Orange County Register a new law is under consideration to discourage the rampant teen drinking problem. If Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills adopt this ordinance they will be the first cities in Orange County to implement this new law.

More cities cracking down on parents allowing teen boozing
City councils in Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills might be county's first to impose new law to fight underage drinking.

"With the prom season under way and neighborhoods under siege with drunken teens, public urination and violence, city officials in two South County cities hope a new law could crash these out-of-control parties.

In Mission Viejo, the City Council voted last week to draft a new ordinance and will consider it at Monday night's meeting. Proposed by Mayor Trish Kelley, the social host underage drinking ordinance would hold adults accountable for teen drinking and could result in $1,000 fines. It could also require adults to pay for law enforcement response costs as well as costs associated with repeated calls to the same address."

The "Social Host Ordinance" is aimed at reducing the venues teens have for consuming alcohol by creating steep fees in hope of increasing adult supervision and accountability for teen drinking on personal property.

Local communities have witnessed increase in alcohol related property damage, driving related arrests, injuries and public disturbances.

"Since May 2007, Mission Viejo deputies have responded to reports of 1,325 loud parties. A good percentage of these have involved teens, said sheriff's Lt. Steve Bernardi, chief of police services for the city. In 2007 there were 18 crashes in which underage drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Ten people were injured, and in 11 cases, juveniles told deputies they had been drinking at a party, at a friend's house or at home."