Study: Teens prefer texting to talking

Like previous generations, today's teens seem to be constantly on the
phone. But now they're doing a lot more texting than talking.

One third of teens in the U.S. text more than 100 times a day, according to
a study released Tuesday by Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Based on a survey and focus groups conducted with teenagers between 12 and
17, Pew found that text messaging is by far the most common way that kids
communicate with each other, more than chatting on the phone, e-mailing, using
social-networking sites, or talking face to face.

More than 75 percent of teens now own cell phones, notes Pew, up from just
45 percent in 2004. Around 72 percent of all teens, or 88 percent of teens who
own mobile phones, use text messages to communicate. That marks a big jump from
2006 when only 51 percent of teens texted on their phones.

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By: Lance Whitney, http://news.cnet.com

5 Teen Behavior Problems: A Troubleshooting Guide

To be fair, no one has ever pretended that parenting a teenager was going to be easy. Still, until your own kids reach that stage, it's tempting to believe your family will be immune to teen behavior problems. No, you tell yourself, your teenager will never talk back, stay out too late or pierce her eyebrow.

Dream on.

Teenagers are basically hard-wired to butt heads with their parents, says Stuart Goldman, MD, director of psychiatric education at Children's Hospital in Boston. "Adolescence is a time of rapid change for kids both physically and cognitively," he explains. "It's the task of the teenager to fire their parents and then re-hire them years later, but as consultants rather than managers."

But that doesn't mean you have to take it lying down. With the right approach, you can troubleshoot the following teen behavior problems in a relatively civilized fashion.

Teen Behavior Problem 1: Your Teen Seems To Hate You

-Read all

By Christina Frank
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Tips for Parenting A Troubled Teen

Teens who are having problems that are causing negative behavior to them is termed as troubled teen. These problems continue to affect them which will stop them to develop into a successful adult.

The problems that the teens are facing are beyond the normal issues. The problems might be related to environment, peer pressure and abusive relationship. These problems can give rise to mental and physical issues in the teens.

Analyze carefully the behavior of the troubled teen. Understand what is happening to the teen before and after the behavior. Once you understand the bad behavior, you can target on undesirable behavior of the teen.

Many times you will find that your teen won’t follow any rule and end up with what they wanted to have. That is why it is important to understand the reason behind the behavior of the troubled teen. Once you are able to understand the reason you can use the specific technique to treat your troubled teen. Behavior modification is the effective technique used for the troubled teen.

Signs of Troubled Teens:-

If you observe that your teen is showing the following signs frequently, it means that you are dealing with a troubled teen. Below are the signs given:-

• You will find that your teen’s grade is falling down.
• You will observe that your teen’s mood swings easily.
• Your teen will feel intense sad
• Your teen will avoid positive friendship
• You will find that your teen has become secretive
• You will find that your teen’s attitude has become defiant
• You will see your teen has become rebellion
• Your teen will find humor when others are distress
• You will observe that your teen spend a lot of time in sleeping

4 Ways to deal with Troubled Teens:-

• Be a supportive parent. Assure your teen that you love him very much. Always be there with your teen whenever he needs you.
• Praise your teen whenever he shows positive behavior. You can also give reward to your teen.
• Set rules for your teens. Give punishment whenever you find that your teen has break the rule. Make rules which are real and practically applicable
• Do not argue with your troubled teen. If you find that your teen is arguing with you, ignore his behavior. Be firm at the same time flexible whenever required.

-parenting.ygoy.com

In the uproar around the suicides of Ms. Prince, 15, and an 11-year-old boy subjected to harassment in nearby Springfield last year, the Massachusetts legislature stepped up work on an anti-bullying law that is now near passage. The law would require school staff members to report suspected incidents and principals to investigate them. It would also demand that schools teach about the dangers of bullying.

Forty-one other states have anti-bullying laws of varying strength.

In the Prince case, two boys and four girls, ages 16 to 18, face a different mix of felony charges that include statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury, harassment, stalking and disturbing a school assembly. Three younger girls have been charged in juvenile court, Elizabeth D. Scheibel, the Northwestern district attorney, said at a news conference in Northampton, Mass.

Appearing with state and local police officials on Monday, Ms. Scheibel said that Ms. Prince’s suicide came after nearly three months of severe taunting and physical threats by a cluster of fellow students.

“The investigation revealed relentless activities directed toward Phoebe to make it impossible for her to stay at school,” Ms. Scheibel said. The conduct of those charged, she said, “far exceeded the limits of normal teenage relationship-related quarrels.”

It was particularly alarming, the district attorney said, that some teachers, administrators and other staff members at the school were aware of the harassment but did not stop it. “The actions or inactions of some adults at the school were troublesome,” Ms. Scheibel said, but did not violate any laws.

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-By Holly Epstein Ojalvo, nytimes.com