Tag Archives: teens

Prevent Child Sexual Assault—be part of the solution

Posted in Articles for Parents, General Health by

I learned this past weekend that a victim of child sexual assault has to tell at least 7 adults before he/she is believed. Why?  Because people can’t process the message and don’t want to believe.  A healthy brain isn’t wired to think in these terms especially in relation to a child.   An adult will attempt to reinterpret what the child is saying in a way that makes it less damaging/threatening for them to process. The child very quickly sees that the adult just doesn’t get it and moves on until he/she encounters another adult they feel safe enough with to tell.  This was both shocking and terrifying for me to learn.  As adults, please don’t be the problem, be part of the solution.  If a child tries to engage you in a conversation that you can tell they are both physically and emotionally struggling through, please stop and listen.

It seems that predators target kids with lower-self esteem the most and prey on those who lack strong identity and/or have a weaker social network.  Most disturbing for me was to learn that these predators can actually walk into a chat room, play ground, mall, etc., and can target these kids instantly, almost like radar.  We must protect.

Teach your kids to be aware of adult strangers that seem too interested in them too soon.

Dr. Michele Borba’s Reality Check is a great blog that provides tips, warning signs and workshops for parents and kids.

TeenScreen- A New Tool in Teen Suicide Prevention

Posted in General Health, Self-Esteem by

Teen suicide is a serious matter.  We are bombarded in the news lately with stories and video of  teen bullying (cyber and other) as well as other forms of teen harassment.  Teens are feeling overwhelmed more than ever and I don’t blame them. It’s seems the stakes are getting higher as we are see an increase of teen suicides.  Many articles have told us that teens don’t tell their parents about the bullying that occurs (via Facebook, text, blogs, etc.) because they fear that their parents will take away their electronic devices such as phones and computers.  Clearly, the message that teens should talk to their parents about these issues isn’t fully solving the problem. We need other tools/options as well.

Teens need to be aware that other sources of information, help and support are out there.  Last weekend,  I went to a fund-raiser for Family Services of Marin and learned of a new tool in the prevention of teen suicide.  It’s called “TeenScreen” and was developed by Columbia University.  It’s the first screening of its kind that seems to identity the warning signals as all stage of distress, gives practical feedback/advice and has reduced teen suicide rates.  By administering this simple screening to teens, they can identify those on the “check list” as being in danger. Teens who have been given the screening were surprised to see just how accurate the readings were and some teens didn’t even realize that the issues they struggle with on a daily basis were “not common” and could lead to negative behaviours.  This is an amazing tool that’s inexpensive, practical and can easily be implemented by schools.

To learn more, go to:

TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups | Teen Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

Girl Talk

Posted in Girl Talk: Boys, Bullies and Body Image by

Seventy-five percent of teenage girls with self-esteem issues have reported engaging in negative activities such as smoking, drinking, bullying, cutting, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, and even suicide attempts. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s during the grammar school years that females perform equally well or even outperform males academically and at the same time, show signs of well-developed self-esteem. But, once a female enters puberty, her academic performance as well as over all self-esteem gradually declines in the high school setting. Through a series of interviews, my book will give teen girls the validation and understanding for why they feel the way they do. It will give them tools and resources to combat self-esteem issues and empower them to move forward. Through the RAISE (resilience, attitude, independence, self-respect, empowerment) system I have formulated, they will have the tools and resources to combat self-esteem issues and empower themselves to move forward. In addition, parents, teachers and counselors will gain more understanding and insight about the struggles of teenage girls by reading this book.

My book  offers a path to empowered self-esteem. This book will have a strong appeal among teen girls especially because they will be reading about what other teenage girls have to say. Peer to peer information is extremely powerful. This book will also cover background information on self-esteem, but will mainly focus on interviews with teens girls on the topic. We will dive into the factors which contribute to healthy self-esteem as well as those which affect low self-esteem and offer solutions.

Stay tuned……