Given the events of the past week here in Australia, (we have just got a new Prime Minister) I have been thinking about politics and how teenagers engage with politics. The adolescent task of establishing an autonomous identity is commonly associated with a period of moratorium. This period of moratorium is when a teenager has […]
Continue readingLady Gaga & Madonna: Generational Distinctives
Found this video today about a topic that has been rummaging around in my head for a while – Is Lady Gaga this generation’s Madonna? Does the answer tell us anything about teenagers today? Similarities The above video gives a great example of just how similar Lady Gag is to Madonna. I am sure most […]
Continue readingWhy Teenagers Engage in Heavy Drinking
In previous posts I have discussed alcohol use amongst teens and the connection between parents and teenage alcohol use. In this post I thought I would look more specifically at heavy drinking amongst teenagers and some possible reasons for it. This idea was prompted by a recent study has linked parenting styles with heavy drinking […]
Continue readingPeer Pressure: Not All Teens the Same.
It can be easy to stereotype when talking about demographic groupings. It is no different for those of us who talk about teenagers all day – we can generalise from time to time. So in order to appear balanced and nuanced I offer this post about peer pressure in teens. The point is a simple […]
Continue readingControlling Teens: Does It Work?
In the previous post I suggested that being in control of our selves as adults is better starting point for building healthy relationships with our teenagers. In this post I want to briefly outline why the issue of control is a vexed one where teenagers are concerned. One of the most significant tasks of adolescence […]
Continue readingIn Control or Controlling: How Do You Relate To Teens?
Everywhere I look on the internet there are articles and courses available to enable parents to control their teenager. There is a lot less material around about being ‘in control’ as a parent. If the distinction is lost on you then please read on. I find it curious that courses and books about relationships, in […]
Continue readingGirls Starting Puberty Younger
I think this is the type of headline no Dad wants to read. Most of us Dads would be happy for our girls to start puberty at about 15, and then start finding boys interesting at about 21. So the news from Europe that the average age of the onset of puberty has now fallen […]
Continue readingTeenage Boys Need Food
Just to add to my growing collection of “research that confirms the bleeding obvious” posts, I submit this study that confirms – teenage boys eat a lot -even more than girls! I am sure this is not anything new to parents of teenage boys who are still trying to adjust to their lower standard of […]
Continue reading5 Ways Parents Can Reduce Teenage Smoking
According to the Cancer Council (Australia) 43,000 kids take up smoking in Australia every year. Approximately 15,000 Australians die from smoking related causes every year – more than from alcohol and illicit drugs combined. More than 80% of adults smokers started smoking before the age of 18. None of this is probably very surprising, but […]
Continue readingAustralian Teenagers & Sex
After my recent post about attitudes towards sex and contraception of teenagers in the US someone asked if there was any similar Australian research. Well there is in fact, and it was quite remiss of me to not refer to it before now. La Trobe University carries out a survey of year 10 and year […]
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