“When you approach a dead body, there is a void there, and I’d never sensed that before, and that’s when my world was destroyed,” Air Force veteran and airline pilot Chris Didier told The Washington Post. His son seemed asleep at his desk.

Topics: parenting, teenagers, teens, social media, fentanyl

The story was tragic. A former Virginia police officer drove nearly 3,000 miles to Riverside, California, to kidnap a teenage girl he had met online through “catfishing,” a type of online deception in which someone pretends to be someone else, especially to pursue fraudulent online romances.

Topics: parenting, teenagers, teens, social media, valor

President's Message - December 2022

As we enter the “official” season of giving, we all start to think about appropriate gifts for each of our loved ones. We may forget, however, that the gift of ourselves is the best gift of all. The following essay is one which we have published before, many times, but it never fails to touch my heart and helps me realize anew how important its message is. I hope you enjoy it too. Happy Holidays!

Topics: President's Message, holidays, Informed Families

One of the topics in this month’s Family Table Time kit is valor. But if you try to tell your child what it means to have valor, they may wonder why you’re bothering, them since they’re not serving in the military.

Why would a kid need to worry about courage or bravery, as the dictionary defines the word, in their everyday lives?

Topics: parenting, teenagers, teens, valor

“But Mom, everybody else has one!”

And of course, the classic parental response to this is, “If everyone else was jumping off the Empire State Building, does that mean you have to?”

Topics: parenting, teenagers, teens, social media, smartphone

For years, parents have campaigned to get social media sites to help them keep their kids safe online. In order to stave off government action, some of these platforms have moved to offer safety features they say will help protect kids.

Topics: parenting, teenagers, teens, social media

President's Message - November 2022

I had intended my article to be about an Attitude of Gratitude, Thankfulness, and Celebration but the news media doesn’t cover any of those topics only Death, Destruction, and Debacle. Maybe that is why we have just a large drug problem we focus on the negative and forget how to Live a Healthy Life.

Topics: President's Message, college students, teenagers, Informed Families, teens, drugs

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during the 12-month period ending in April 2021 more than 100,000 Americans died from synthetic opioids. Between May and September of this year, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents around the country seized more than 10 million fentanyl pills and hundreds of pounds of powder, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced in September.

Topics: parenting, teenagers, teens, drugs, fentanyl

One of this month’s Family Table Time topics is safety and behavior. While it’s important not to blame victims when bad things happen to them, it’s also important that teens know which behaviors might put them at risk.

Topics: Family Day, parenting, teenagers, teens

Red Ribbon Week, celebrated annually from October 23-31, is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention awareness program targeted to K-12 students. The purpose of the commemoration is to raise awareness among the young about the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful drugs.

Topics: Family Day, parenting, teenagers, teens