As a former middle school teacher, I have spent hours in the classroom.  Those hours have all been leading the class.  I have taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.  I have substituted for seventh and eighth grades.  I love this middle school age group of eleven-to-thirteen.  (As a teacher, I mean.  As a parent, I find working with my own boys much more challenging!)  Read more »

I recently had one of the best weekends of my life. Among other things I drove several miles, attended a cheerleading competition (our first - my daughter’s as a competitor, and mine as a spectator mom…of the quiet variety) consumed way too many unhealthy calories and was hostess to thirty-five
thirteen year-olds for four hours, most of which were dark thanks to daylight savings time. Seriously, it was a blast!

Consider that the alternative was a gratis stay at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort with my husband and daughters for the weekend and you will surely question my sanity.

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Full disclosure: I was a rebellious teenager. I broke curfew frequently, yelled at my poor mom, and was generally surly and rude. (And oh, how I wish I could take it all back! I’ve apologized to my mom many times, but I would seriously love a time machine so I could go back and do my teen years all over again!) I was so sure, back then, that I was in control and knew what I was doing.

Boy, was I wrong.

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Does raising an adolescent ever make you feel like you’re being examined under a microscope?

I find I am in the process of analyzing my own values and behavior all over again, because my pre-teen daughter questions what I do — and always lets me know when I’ve slipped up! My truth-seeking eleven-year-old, who can’t see the pile of clothes on her bedroom floor, will notice even the slightest deviation within Mom’s mood or behavior. Lately her finger seems to have constant tension on the trigger that, when pulled, will fire my own truths at me and knock me to my knees.

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A recent CNN report states that 2,000+ sex offenders from North Carolina are registered users on the popular social networking site MySpace.com.  MySpace was ordered to turn over the names to officials and Facebook was also asked to do the same.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with MySpace or Facebook, here’s the skinny. Both are Internet sites where users can post information and pictures about themselves and allow other people on the site to view those pictures and read the information if they accept them as their “friend”.  Some users have more than 500 friends, and it is a common to compete to have the most.

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In Cape Cod this week, another group of middle schoolers was found “sexting” photos of a 13 year old female classmate to each other. (Watch the newsclip here.) If you haven’t heard, “sexting” is the act of sending nude photos of yourself or others via your cell phone. A recent study conducted in December suggested that I out of every 5 teens in America has tried sexting, either via cell phone or while online.

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A little while ago, I blogged about starting to address my 13-year-old son’s offensive language. The changes started slowly, but he showed some improvement with consistent feedback. Whenever he slipped, he lost a specific video game or went to bed earlier. But the issue still hangs on. We both need more practice.

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Is TV harmless, or does it encourage our kids to engage in risky behavior?

A new study out this month says that young people who frequently watch shows that depict sexual situations or conversations are twice as likely to get pregnant — or get someone else pregnant. (This is in comparison to  to kids who watch few or none of these types of programs.) In the study by the non-partisan Rand Corp., the pregnancy link was there even after accounting for factors such as delinquent behavior, those who wanted to get pregnant, and comparing kids who live in single-parent households to those with two parents present.

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