Youth suicide, resiliency and relating in the ‘net’
Saturday, May 19th, 2012This is the introduction to the 2012 Spring edition of Banana Moments: Family Business Quarterly. Subscribers look for PDF attachment in your email. To receive the PDF with articles, subscribe.
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For this Spring 2012 edition of Banana Moments: Family Business Quarterly I chose to feature the book, What Color Is Your Parachute? 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard Bolles because it offers very hands-on ways to discover our purpose for a fullfilling life. More importantly, the guidance and exercises in this book provide excellent opportunities for teens and parents to bond.
We live in anxious times of major change hyped by cyber-powered media, and our youth are feeling the weight of uncertainty and so it is important that we are able to help them envision a future of hope and possibility based upon their God-given talents.
Without strength in the primary relationships, such as God-individual and parent-child, it is easy to become convinced that the lies of popular culture are true (your past and present circumstances define you and your future, you don’t have enough Facebook friends, your GPA isn’t good enough, you bet your future on one college acceptance). In our community this past year, we experienced two youth suicides within nine months. In surrounding communities there were many more. (See cover story: What youth suicide teaches us about resiliency and relating).
The best thing we can do for our youth is relate to them about the value of their lives, and this Parachute book provides wonderful perspective and tools to help build resilency needed to face the adversity of what we can see at the present moment.
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Inside This Edition (attached PDF)
- Parachutes and resiliency – Cover
- What youth suicide teaches us about resiliency and relating – Cover
- Understanding youth issues in the ‘net’ – p.2
- Response to youth stress: Listening as love language– p.3
- Has your child pused you to the end of your rope? The Calm Parent – p. 4
- Three Moms and a Mike: Let’s display emotional intelligence to deal with issues facing youth and families – p.4
- Off-line safety one to confront the pain: Building resiliency to addiction, an interview with Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADC – p.5
- Elder Care Corner: Can my aging parent be safe at home?– p.5
- Relating to your purpose in the ‘net’ –p.6
- Smart phone apps are the new wild, wild, West of the Internet: What to do – p.6
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Thank you 2012 spring edition contributors!
- Debbie Pincus, MS, LMHC, a psychotherapist specializing in family relations, parenting, couples,anxiety
- Barry Lessin, M.Ed., CAADC, specializing in adolescent mental health and addiction (Fort Washington, PA)
- Yasar Chaudhary, President of AskComputerExperts.com (Sacramento, CA)
- Carol Heape, MSW, CMC, Elder Options (Placerville, CA)
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Leading children to triumph over the anxiety of our time:
The Authority In Me – by Joanna Jullien (Publisher: Smashwords – available in all ebook formats including Kindle, Nook and PDF)
“The digital world is a concern for many parents and a topic worthy of much thought and discussion. This manuscript inspires parents to know their own boundaries and voice them to their children. The content is insightful and relevant.”
–Debbie Pincus, MS, LMHC Empowering Parents
“Our children only pass this way once. A parent is and always will be a child’s first teacher. This inspirational book reminds parents of their primary role and what happens when parents use their life’s gift to influence, guide and place reasonable controls on their offspring. It is a must read for all who want to take back their children.”
Dr. Susan G. Weinberger The Mentor Consulting Group
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New!
- CyberParenting hot topics on The Fish 103.9 FM Tuesday mornings
- Three Moms and A Mike – A new talk show to elevate the conversations about the issues facing youth and families.
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Resources:
Last month Symantec contacted me about reviewing their on-line family cyber security product called OnLineFamily.Norton – which is available to the public at no charge. There is no requirement to purchase anything from Symantec/Norton. The product offers a very comprehensive solution for parents to monitor and meter the independence children have on the Internet. The demonstration and video are very impressive, and I am searching for Banana Moments subscribers to give it a try and report back so we can report on the effectiveness of this solution.
To access the product, go to: OnLineFamily.Norton (free) Please email Joanna if you wish to share your experience using this program.
BeMoneySmartUSA is a non-profit in Carmichael dedicated to providing information, guidance and wisdom about making money work for you. Geared for teenagers, these free workshops offer inspiration, tips, and “how to’s” that teens don’t know to ask. A new series of workshops just opened October 2010 through May 2011. Check out the website for more information to register: BeMoneySmartUSA
- “This workshop really helped me to understand the importance of saving and planning for the future, it helped to answer many of the questions I had about Finance.” 17-year-old attendee, anonymous
- “I not only learned the principles of money management, but how to put them into use in a practical way.” Karli,18-year-old attendee
- “I didn’t just learn about finance, but also about some of the traps, issues and problems that I have to watch out for when using credit or not planning for my future.” Brandon,15-year-old attendee
3. Free Encouraging Relationships podcasts. Kim Fredrickson is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in strengthening family relationships and bonds, and Kim is a regular contributor to Banana Moments. She is offering a free podcast – weekly messages of encouragement and inspiration.
4. A fellow Banana Moments subscriber has shared a link to a website designed to help families support family members understand better their roles in recovery from substance abuse: Recovered Family.
5. Free College Planning Register for free workshops.
6. Empowering Parents Great newsletter with tips and insights for dealing with strong willed, angry and challenging children.
7. Franny’s House A non-profit that offers a 24-hour crisis help line, counseling and training for families in emotional distress.
8. B.R.A.V.E. Society Non-profit helping families and communities address peer abuse.
9. Join Banana Moments on Facebook and Twitter (@CyberParenting)
10. Sacramento Cyber Safety Column Topics (free subscription)
- Sextortion: How to stop a predator in his tracks
- Google’s new privacy policy heightens the importance of strong passwords
- Why childhood rites of passage in the network culture matter
- Parenting challenge 2012: Keeping up with digital natives
- On-line family photo sharing is a child safety matter
- How heavy is your child’s backpack? (Academic anxiety and substance abuse)
- How young people rule their cyber world
11. Check out the Banana Moments Blog
12. Other
Joanna interviewed by Nikki Medoro, KFBK reporter who just launched her mom blog: Mama on the Mic.
The Business of Life
Banana Moments is producing content for the Business of Life Series produced by BeMoneySmartUSA and the California Lottery which was published in the San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee in October.
(link to publications in SF Chronicle and Sac Bee)
Related Banana Moments links for The Business of Life series produced with BeMoneySmartUSA:
Finding a good mentor for teens
Become the entrepreneur of your life – for teens
Teens become the entrepreneur of your own family life
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May all your banana moments be rewarding as well as challenging!
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