Author: Barb Flis

Posted December 17th, 2009

Sexting is the new term that has been coined over the past year and its definition is the act of sending, receiving and/or forwarding of naked pictures of oneself and/or friends or classmates via cell phone.  This is happening all over the country, putting adolescents at risk for criminal charges, humiliation and isolation from their peers. 

 Last January, three girls (ages 14 or 15) in Greensburg, Pa., were charged with disseminating child pornography for sexting their boyfriends. The boys who received the images were charged with possession. A teenager in Indiana faces felony obscenity charges for sending a picture of his genitals to female classmates. A 15-year-old girl in Ohio and a 14-year-old girl in Michigan were charged with felonies for sending along nude images of themselves to classmates. Some of these teens have pleaded guilty to lesser charges; others have not. If convicted, these young people may have to register as sex offenders, in some cases for a decade or two. Similar charges have been filed in cases in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.

The website, http://www.Thatsnotcool.com is an excellent resource for parents to share with their teens regarding sexting, “textual harassment”, bullying, peer pressure, and abusive relationships and how to deal with these issues.  It has videos, “Call-Out Cards”, and a chat section where teens can share their experiences and advice on related issues.

• Login or register to post comments
• ]]>

Posted December 14th, 2009

My trip to Missouri last week to speak at the Coordinated School Health Conference was wonderful from start to finish.  I was reminded about what this work is all about when I got off the plane and saw this brother and sister waiting for their dad to return home from his tour of duty in Iraq.

 

• Login or register to post comments
• ]]>

Posted December 14th, 2009

The conference participants, mostly school nurses and Physical Education Teachers, embraced the message of my keynote address about the importance of working with parents on school health initiatives.  One of my biggest supporters (pictured with me below) is Patti Van Tuinen who is the Adolescent Health Coordinator for the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services.  Patti and her colleagues work tirelessly on behalf of children.

 

• Login or register to post comments
• ]]>

Education!  According to a recent Reuters report in the New York Times, the United States has among the highest rates of STDs of any developed country in the world.  The highly treatable infections, such as Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, continue to spread. 

Parents can be a huge factor in stopping the spread of STDs among their adolescents by talking to them about healthy sexual relationships and safe sex.  The first step is being educated themselves and also being engaged with the health and sex education their adolescent is receiving in school.

Posted December 1st, 2009

Every day in his television show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Fred Rogers talked to children about everyday life.  Much of his efforts centered on helping children to be mentally fit. 

Good mental health for children means being able to develop secure, trusting relationships, expressing emotions appropriately, and interacting with others. 

Through this song, What do you do with the mad that you feel? Mr. Rogers lets children know it is okay to have feelings and helps them learn the self-control necessary to manage their anger and channel it into a productive activity.

• Login or register to post comments
• ]]>

Positive parent-teen relationships, high parental awareness and monitoring of whom their children are with, and family dinner routines are all linked to delayed sex among teens, according to a new Child Trends research brief.  The brief, Parents Matter: The Role of Parents in Teens’ Decisions about Sex, explores how parenting practices that occur before adolescents have had sexual intercourse are associated with the probability of first sex by age 16.  

The entire research brief is attached in a PDF, but below are some interesting findings and highlights:

• Better parent-adolescent relationships are associated with reduced risk of early sexual experience among teen girls.
• Teen girls who reported high relationship quality with both parents were less likely to have sex at an early age (22%), compared with teen girls who reported low relationship quality with both parents (37 percent).
• This finding holds true for teen girls’ relationships with their mothers and fathers separately, but no significant association was found for teen boys
• Teen boys who eat dinner with their family every day have a lower probability of having sex before age 16 (31%), compared with those who eat dinner with their family four days a week or less (37%).  No significant association was found for teen girls on this measure.

Adolescents whose parents are more aware of whom they are with when not at home are less likely to have sex by age 16.  For example, only 22% of girls who reported that their parents knew “everything” about whom they were with when they were not home had first sex before age 16, compared with 43% who reported their parents knew little or nothing.

“These findings highlight the importance of parents in adolescents’ lives,” said study co-author Jennifer Manlove, Ph.D.  “Parents can be involved beyond having the ‘sex talk’ with their adolescents – by fostering strong relationships, developing family routines such as eating dinner together regularly, and being aware of where their children are when they are not at home.”

This study is based on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, sponsored and directed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.

AttachmentSize Child_Trends-2009_11_11_RB_ParentsTeenSex.pdf607.69 KB

Posted November 11th, 2009

On November 9, 2009, I gave the opening keynote address at the 17th Annual Parenting Awareness Michigan Conference in East Lansing, Michigan to over 250 professionals and volunteers who work with Michigan families.  Their job is an important one —  to help parents with the most important job ever – parenting.  The keynote address was entitled:  Love Your Path:  You were Made for This.  The conference participants were well aware of what a powerful influence parents are on their child’s life.  They know, however, to help parents realize that power and put it into action is not always easy.  Still there was unquestionable passion among this group.  I shared with them my personal story of how, as a parent, experts just like them helped me realize my power as a parent, guide and motivate me to take action, and advocate for my own children and eventually for children across the state. My goal was to inspire the audience to be fully present in their lives, value the journey as much as the destination, and champion the power of partnerships with parents.

• Login or register to post comments
• ]]>

Posted November 17th, 2009

UNITED STATES:”Consumer Reports Puts 20 Condoms to the Test”

ABC News  (11.03.09)::Joseph Brownstein

     In recent testing of 20 condom brands sold on the US market, all met minimum national and international performance standards, according to Consumer Union, the independent nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

     Condoms are usually inflated with 17-18 liters of air in tests for breaking. “All of them test at the standard” despite the variety of styles and brands, said Jamie Hirsh, an associate editor for Consumer Reports Health. Consumer Reports tested the condoms at a higher volume of 25 liters, and even then seven condom types – including products from Durex, Lifestyles, and Trojan – never broke in 500-600 tries. All the condoms were also submerged in water to check for leaks.

     While all the condoms met regulators’ minimum standards, “some of them are even better than fine,” in that they met Consumer Report’s even “more stringent” tests, Hirsh said. “If you’re looking for the strongest, toughest condom, that’s what that extra test gives you.”

     More importantly, Consumer Reports notes that “the most protection comes with using the condom properly,” said Eli Coleman, director of the human sexuality program at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Common errors in using condoms include tearing them when opening the packaging; not allowing enough air in at the tip to prevent the condom from slipping off; putting them on backwards; not putting them on soon enough; using expired condoms; and not using adequate lubricant, said Coleman.

     “These tests show the reliability and integrity of the condoms, but they don’t take into account what happens when humans are using them,” Coleman said. “Many of these condoms have been improved to enhance pleasure and sensitivity while maintaining the integrity and the reliability of the condom.”   

• Login or register to post comments
• ]]>