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School is now in full swing and children, as well as then parents, are probably experiencing increased demands on their time and their coping abilities. School involves concerns beyond those experienced by parents when they were children. Not only do children today report anxiety about school performance and acceptance, they also deal with increased violence in their place of learning. [More]

An examination of recent events shows the very simple decision such as taking a substance and getting behind the wheel proves equally as dangerous as drinking and driving under the influence. [More]

September has been a newsworthy month for high school football but not for reasons that are positive. First there was the incident involving two Texas high school students blindsiding a defenseless football official with a brutal tackle during the last few minutes of a game. Then there was the Linden High School athlete who pulled off the football helmet of another player from the opposing team, striking him in the head until 10 stitches were required. Given the recent level of poor sportsmanship in high school football, many are left wondering what is going on. [More]

After three years of joining efforts with more than 100 high-level health care professionals, attorneys, foster youth/caregivers/advocates, and the Department of Social Services, California has unveiled a sweeping set of guidelines aimed at cracking down on the overuse of psychiatric medication in foster care (de Sá, April 2015). The exhaustive efforts began in 2012 and have given birth to the new proposed measures which recently passed the Senate and are now in the Assembly to be finalized (de Sá, July 2015). [More]

The MTV Video Music Awards (VMA's) are known for the controversy that they generate - in fact the notion of controversy is precisely the reason that people, mostly young people, tune into the show. It serves as a platform for musicians and reality stars to make a splash in the world that they inhabit, something that has grown in magnitude in the last couple of decades during the broadcast. That ability to make a splash usually means engaging in extraordinary and shocking behavior, whether it be Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech in 2009, the infamous exchange between Britney Spears and Madonna in 2003, Lady Gaga's meat dress in 2010 or the lascivious dancing by a young Miley Cyrus in 2013, the VMA's certainly hand out their "moon man" awards for popular music videos, but the winners are rarely the big story. [More]

It all began in 2009 -2010 when four students and a recent graduate from Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California killed themselves over a seven-month period. In just five years, the tragedy ensued and was followed by another four suicide victims this year. When a recent graduate from Gunn High killed himself on the tracks near East Meadow Drive in Palo Alto, another student ended his life the same way in less than three weeks after. Two and half months later, a senior killed himself followed by another suicide committed by a sophomore from Palo Alto High School (Kapp, 2015). [More]

Summertime is known to be a time of relaxation, fun, family time, and long and lazy days. It is also a time when children are a little more independent, as they are off with friends, away at camp, on vacations and field trips, and learning and trying new things. Generally speaking, parents are prepared to send children on their adventures. Their backpacks are armed with bug spray, bottled water, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and with extras of everything just in case. But what is often missed is the opportunity to arm them with safety from those who may try to harm them. [More]

It is a well-known fact that parenting does not come with a manual of standard procedure (which would indeed be helpful) and at times, various topics arise which make parents second-guess themselves. Recently, the topic of praise and narcissism has been at the forefront of social media and sensationalized pop-culture blogs. However, what is missing is an expert opinion on the matter based upon a combination of empiricism and years of experience with hundreds, even thousands of children. [More]

American youth are growing up in a society where competition and the pressure that comes with it, begin at the very beginning of their life experiences. It is not uncommon for parents to go to classes, read books, do research, and gather as much information as they can about parenting. Well-meaning parents want the best for their children. There are programs for babies to read, infants to swim, even sports that begin in toddlerhood. Often, parents will pick homes in good school districts so they can ensure a good education for their children. [More]

Sex trafficking is one of the most complex, under-investigated, and misunderstood issues today (Estes & Wiener, 2001). Not to be confused with willful prostitution, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines sex trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age" (Kerry, 2013). [More]