Parenting Teens

Our ungenerous-to-a-fault president has, once again, told us where his priorities stand-he will authorize more spending for the war, but not for our children’s health. President Bush has-as promised-vetoed a bill which would have expanded the coverage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program(SCHIP).

SCHIP is a joint state-federal program which subsidizes health coverage 6.6 million people, mostly children, whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford their own private insurance coverage. Democrats (and many Republicans) had passed the bill, which would add $35 billion over five years. This would have allowed four million additional children to be covered by the program. The expansion would have been funded by raising the federal tax on cigarettes to $1 per pack.

The president’s reasons for vetoing the bill were that it was too costly, took the program too far from its original intent of helping the poor, and would entice people to switch to government insurance coverage from private insurers. He argued that the plan would be a move toward socialized medicine, by expanding the program to higher-income families.

House Democratic leaders plan to try to override the veto. The Senate approved the bill with enough votes to override the veto, but the House will need some 15 more votes to get the required 2/3 majority they need to override Bush’s veto.

We should all hope and pray that the required number of votes will be attained. This is an extremely important program for our children and teens. Contact your Senators and Representatives to let them know that you support this bill. Let them know that we are tired of a president who favors war spending over the health of our children.

For more on this issue, go to:
Media Critiques

teens, teenagers, children’s health, children’s health insurance, President Bush, State Children’s Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, parenting, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

All the drama! All the excitement! All the screaming! And that was just for Zac Efron! Efron and his High School Musical 2 costars won several awards at the Teen Choice Awards, as did Johnny Depp and his Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s Endcostars. A selected list of winners is below. For a full list of who teens picked as their favorites this year, go to Fox News.

Choice Movie: Action Adventure — “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

Choice Movie: Drama — “The Pursuit of Happyness”

Choice Movie Actor: Drama — Will Smith (”The Pursuit of Happyness”)

Choice Movie Actress: Drama — Jennifer Hudson (”Dreamgirls”)

Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure — Johnny Depp (”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”)

Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure — Keira Knightley (”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”)

Choice Movie Actress: Comedy — Sophia Bush (”John Tucker Must Die”)

Choice Movie Actor: Horror/Thriller — Shia LaBeouf (”Disturbia”)

Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller — Sophia Bush (”The Hitcher”)

Choice Movie: Villain — Bill Nighy (”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”)

Choice Movie: Hissy Fit — Ryan Seacrest (”Knocked Up”)

Choice Movie: Breakout Female — Sophia Bush

Choice Movie: Dance — Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan (”Step Up”)

Choice Movie: Breakout Male — Shia LaBeouf

Choice Movie: Chemistry — Will Smith and Jaden Smith (”The Pursuit of Happyness”)

Choice Movie: Scream — Steve Carell (”Evan Almighty”)

Choice TV: Movie — “High School Musical 2″

Choice TV Show: Comedy — “Hannah Montana”

Choice TV: Reality/Variety Show — “American Idol”

Choice TV Actor: Comedy — Steve Carell (”The Office”)

Choice TV Actress: Comedy — Miley Cyrus (”Hannah Montana”)

Choice TV: Breakout — America Ferrera (”Ugly Betty”)

Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star — Sanjaya (American Idol)

Choice TV: Female Reality/Variety Star — Lauren Conrad (”The Hills”)

Choice Music: Single — “Girlfriend,” Avril Lavigne

Choice Music: Male Artist — Justin Timberlake

Choice Music: Female Artist — Fergie

Choice Music: Rap Artist — Timbaland

Choice Music: R&B Artist — Rihanna

Choice Music: Breakout Artist Female — Vanessa Hudgens

Choice Music: Breakout Artist Male — Akon

Choice Music: Love Song — “With Love” - Hilary Duff

Choice Music: R&B Track — “Beautiful Girls,” Sean Kingston

Choice Music: Payback Track — “What Goes Around..,” Justin Timberlake

Choice Male Hottie — Zac Efron

Choice Female Hottie — Jessica Alba

Choice Comedian — Dane Cook

Choice Summer Movie — Drama/Action Adventure — “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix”

Choice Summer Movie — Comedy/Musical — “Hairspray”

Choice Summer Song — “Hey There Delilah,” Plain White T’s

Choice Summer Artist — Miley Cyrus

Choice Summer TV Show — “Degrassi”

Choice V Cast Video — “The Hills”

Teen Choice Awards, High School Musical 2, Zac Efron, Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean

You’re the parent of a teen. You’re loaded, right? You or your teen couldn’t use $300 or $200 or $100, could you? Then enter the 451 Press comment contest anyway, and give the money to charity! It’s easy to enter. Just make a comment on any 451 Press site (that’s this site and all the others listed at the bottom of the page) during the month of August and be entered into our drawing to win! That’s all there is to it. Easy, and maybe profitable as well!

You still have a couple of weeks left to enter, so get to it! And, if you’re one of the lucky winners, let me know you and/or your teen used the money. I’ll do a post about it! Good luck.

teens, teenagers, contest, drawing, prizes, 451 Press, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

Even though it seems as though school just ended here, it will soon be time for kids to head back to classes! That means one of the most expensive times of the year for many families is coming up. Clothes and supplies for school can add up quickly, especially if you have teenagers who are already into adult sizes!

Luckily, many states now have sales tax holidays, when clothing, supplies, and other items have no sales tax applied to them. It can mean great savings for many people. I know that I usually buy the bulk of my daughter’s clothes and supplies during our annual tax holiday.

Below is a list of the states offering tax holidays, the dates, and the items which are exempt. I’ve collected these from several different sources. If you know of any other states having tax holidays, please feel free to post them in the comments. Happy shopping!

Alabama
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100, computers up to $750, school supplies up to $50, books up to $30

Connecticut
When? August 19-25
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $300

District of Columbia
When? August 4-12
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100, school supplies up to $100

Florida
When? August 4-13
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $50, school supplies up to $10

Georgia
When? August 2, 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100, school supplies up to $20, computers up to $1,500.

Iowa
When? August 3 and 4
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100

Louisiana
When? August 3 and 4
What’s exempt? Most individual items of for non-business use up to $2,500

Missouri
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100, computers up to $3500 and school supplies up to $50

New Mexico
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100, computers up to $1,000 and school supplies up to $15

North Carolina
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? Clothing, footwear, and school supplies up to $100, sports equipment up to $50 per item, computers up to $3,500, and computer supplies up to $250 per item

Oklahoma
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? clothing up to $100

South Carolina
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? clothing, school supplies, computers

Tennessee
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? clothing up to $100, school supplies up to $100 and computers up to $1,500

Texas
When? August 17, 18, and 19
What’s exempt? Most clothing and footwear priced under $100, backpacks under $100.

Virginia
When? August 3, 4 and 5
What’s exempt? Clothing up to $100, school supplies up to $20

school, back to school, tax holidays, state tax holidays, school supplies, school clothes, teens, teenagers, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

It’s time once more for the Teen Choice Awards. The awards will be broadcast on Fox, August 26th. Your teen can vote by going to the above website. Here’s a complete list of nominees. Some really interesting choices on here!

Choice Movie: Action Adventure

300

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Spider-Man 3

Transformers

Choice Movie: Drama

Step Up

Stomp the Yard

The Departed

The Guardian

The Pursuit of Happyness

Choice Movie: Chick Flick

Georgia Rule

License to Wed

Music and Lyrics

The Holiday

The Last Kiss

Choice Movie: Comedy

Blades of Glory

Evan Almighty

Knocked up

Night at the Museum

Ocean’s Thirteen

Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller

Disturbia

The Number 23

1408

Hostel: Part II

Saw III

Choice Movie Actor: Drama

Ashton Kutcher - The Guardian

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed, Blood Diamond

Channing Tatum - Step Up

Adam Sandler - Reign Over Me

Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness

Choice Movie Actress: Drama

Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart

Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Lindsay Lohan - Bobby, Georgia Rule

Meagan Good - Stomp the Yard

Scarlett Johansson - The Black Dahlia, The Prestige

Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure

Shia LaBeouf - Transformers

Chris Evans - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Orlando Bloom - Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man 3

Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure

Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Keira Knightley - Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Kirsten Dunst - Spider-Man 3

Lena Headey - 300

Megan Fox - Transformers

(more…)

I’m very happy to announce that Parenting Teens now has parenting forums! I’ve been working on these forums for a while now(amongst other writing chores), and they are now ready for the general public!

Although they are administered by me through the Parenting Teens blog, they are not just for parents of teens. There are categories available for parents who have children of every age-baby through college age. There are also Just For Moms and Just For Dads categories, as well as areas for different types of families and for school issues.

These forums are something I have long wanted to do, and I am very excited about them! You can access the forums at any time by using the link in the “About” box just to the right of this blog, or by going to http://www.parentingteensblog.com/forums/ . So, please, drop by the forums, register, and return often to chat with other parents about parent and child issues. See you there!

parent forums, parenting forums, parents, parenting, moms, dads, children, kids

The New York Times, as well as most other news outlets is reporting on yesterdays Supreme Court vote on the use of race in helping to integrate schools. The following is an excerpt from the New York Times article:

With competing blocs of justices claiming the mantle of Brown v. Board of Education, a bitterly divided Supreme Court declared Thursday that public school systems cannot seek to achieve or maintain integration through measures that take explicit account of a student’s race.

Voting 5 to 4, the court, in an opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., invalidated programs in Seattle and metropolitan Louisville, Ky., that sought to maintain school-by-school diversity by limiting transfers on the basis of race or using race as a “tiebreaker” for admission to particular schools.

I’m divided on this issue. I can see both sides of the coin. I feel that the use of race in making these decisions is wrong. Yet, as a parent, I believe that attending schools with diverse racial populations better prepares children for life in the real world.

I’d like to hear from readers on this one. How do you feel about the Supreme Court decision? How do you feel that the use of race in making school attendance decisions affects your teens and younger children?

race, Supreme Court, schools, education, racial issues, Brown v. Board of Education, New York Times

Here’s a great contest for any of your preteens or ‘tweens, ages 10-14, who have an artistic side. The publishers of the book “The Smart Start Guide to Junior High” are looking for someone in this age group to design a cover for the book. The book has lots of advice and information for students and their parents on transitioning and adjusting to middle school. The prize is $50. Here are the contest rules:

Contest Rules:

1. The contest is open to kids and teens age 10 -14.

2. All book cover designs must measure 5 ½” wide by 8 ½” high.

3. The only required parts of the design are the book’s title, “The Smart Start Guide to Junior High” and the author’s name, “Joe Bruzzese”.

4. If the design is created with a computer program please save the file in either gif, jpg or pdf format.

5. If the design is hand drawn, color may be added with crayons, colored pencils or markers.

6. Create and enter as many designs as you like.

7. All designs must be received by Friday, July 13th in order to qualify for the contest.

8. Designs will be posted, without the designer’s name or contact information, at http://www.squidoo.com/thinking-forward/ beginning Sunday, July 15th. Voting begins on Monday, July 16th and ends on Saturday, July 21st. Anyone can vote, however you may only vote once, so tell your friends to vote for you. Visit the web site, http://www.squidoo.com/thinking-forward/ for more information about how to vote for your favorite design.

9. If you have any questions about the contest send an email to contest@thinking-forward.com

10. Did we mention the winning designer receives a cash prize of $50?

Book cover designs may either be submitted via regular mail to:

Thinking Forward
417 Pitzer Court
Goleta, CA 93117
Please include the entrant’s contact information, including email address and phone number, so we can contact you if you win.

Or by e-mail to:
contest@thinking-forward.com
If you are sending a design by email please send the computer file in one of the following formats: jpg, gif or pdf.

Voting for the winning design will take place online. Beginning Monday, July 16th you can vote for your favorite design by returning to this site. The rules and instructions for voting will be posted at that time.

So, if you have an artistic student, get him/her drawing and designing! This could be a good opportunity!

pre-teens, parenting pre-teens, tweens, parenting tweens, contests, art, artistic, book covers, The Start Smart Guide to Junior High, Joe Bruzzese, junior high, middle school

Parenting Teens would like to wish a Happy Father’s Day to my dad, my daughter’s dad, and all the other dads out there. May you have a wonderful, relaxing day, and lots of fun and happy times with your children and families!

Father’s Day, Happy Father’s Day

In the exciting aftermath of last night’s American Idol finale, Jordin Sparks emerged as the youngest-ever “Idol” winner. At 17, Jordin seems mature and powerful during her singing but, fittingly, nervous and somewhat giggly(just like a teenager) at other moments.

It’s refreshing to see someone like Jordin win. At 17, she seems very much the quintessential teenager. I get an impression of what my 16-year-old daughter would be like, if she were up on that stage!

I hope that Jordin stays her sweet, unassuming self for a few years at least. It was such a treat to see her parents crying and hugging in the audience. Their pride was evident. To raise a teenager who seems unspoiled and hardworking enough to do what Jordin has done is a great accomplishment. They should be proud.

For more on American Idol, visit Reed over at Watching American Idol. He’s done an incredible job of covering the show this season, and will have more on the winner and other contestants coming up.

American Idol, Jordin Sparks, teens, teenagers, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

Dear Abby is teaming with the Federal Citizens Information Center to provide a Health Information Packet celebrating National Women’s Health Week, May 13-19. The kit consists of publications usually offered separately by the FCIC, but are being offered in a packet for the first time. The kit contains publications on the following conditions and topics:

*Allergies
*Asthma
*Cholesterol
*Depression
*Diabetes
*Food Safety
*Heart Disease
*High Blood Pressure
*Listeria
*Mammography
*Sleep Disorders
*Smoking
*Strokes
*Sunscreens
*West Nile Virus

The kit is free, and is available for order at the above link, or by calling 1-888-878-3256. This is great information for all women (including moms!) and some of it could be useful for teen daughters as well! Order yours today!

In February, 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez announced the creation of the Justice Department’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, designed to support law enforcement combating violent gang crime, while also promoting prevention efforts to discourage gang involvement. As part of the initiative, in May 2006 the Department provided anti-gang resources for prevention, enforcement, and offender reentry efforts to six sites across the nation: Los Angeles, CA, Tampa, FL, Cleveland, OH, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, Milwaukee, WI, and the “222 Corridor” that stretches from Easton to Lancaster in Pennsylvania.

The Anti-Gang Initiative has made strides in the original six sites. Recently, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reported Gonzalez’ announcement of the expansion of the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative to include four additional sites: Rochester, NY, Oklahoma City, OK, Indianapolis, IN, and Raleigh-Durham, NC. Each site will receive $2.5 million in additional grant funding to combat gang violence.

Strategies will address the following areas:

*Prevention-will support prevention efforts like the Gang Reduction Program, which focuses on
reducing youth-gang crime and violence by addressing personal, family, and community factors
that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity

*Enforcement-will help support enforcement programs focusing on law enforcement efforts on
the most significant violent gang offenders

*Prisoner Re-entry-will work with faith-based and other community organizations to create
reentry assistance programs that will provide transitional housing, job readiness and placement
assistance, along with substance abuse and mental health treatment to prisoners re-entering
society.

Read more about the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative and the progress that has been made at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, juvenile justice, juvenile delinquency, Alberto R. Gonzalez, Attorney General, Justice Department’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, gangs, gang violence, gang involvement, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

Parenting Teens has been nominated for a Blogger’s Choice Award in the categories of “Best Parenting Blog”, “Hottest Mommy Blog”, and “Best Educational Blog”. Thanks to someone out there for the nominations, and thanks for the votes so far. If you’d like to vote for Parenting Teens in any of these categories, go to the website above and click on the category. It’s quick and easy!

451 Press has quite a few blogs nominated in various categories. We’re all proud of our network! Here’s a list of categories and the nominated blogs from 451 Press. Please vote for us! Links to all of the blogs can be found at the bottom of this page.

Best Animal Blogger:
We Heart Cats
My Friendly Pets

Best Blog About Blogging:
Blog News Watch

Best Blog About Stuff:
Toybender

Best Blog of All Time:
1PStart

Best Celebrity Blogger:
Angelina Watch
Jennifer Anniston Watch

Best Educational Blog:
Fiction Scribe
Foodpast
Mom Is Teaching

Best Entertainment Blog:
Watching The Office
Pop Buzz UK
Watching Survivor
Watching 24
Watching American Idol
Reality on Bravo
Separate Sound
Pride and Opinions
Watching VH1

Best Food Blog:
Elementary Chef
Foodpast

Best Health Blog:
Discussing Breast Cancer

Best Hobby Blog:
Toy Bender
Earthly Garden
Knitting Passion
Fiction Scribe
All Paper Arts
Paintball Journal
Bead Arts

Best Photography Blog:
Digital Shutters

Best Political Blog:
Pride and Opinions

Best Pop Culture Blog:
Pop Buzz UK

Best Religion Blog:
Find Religion

Hottest Mommy Blogger:
Mom Is Teaching

(To all my fellow 451 Press Bloggers: If I have left out your site, or left out a category in which your site was nominated, please feel free to add a comment letting everyone know. These are just the categories and sites I knew about as I was writing this.)

blogs, blogging, blog awards, Blogger’s Choice Awards, 451 Press, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

Here’s an event for all you parents of teenagers who are homeschooling, or think you might be interested in homeschooling.

Over at Mothering, they will be hosting a live chat with David Albert this Thursday, March 29th. Times are 6pm Pacific, 7pm Mountain, 8pm Central, and 9pm Eastern. I’ll be joining in, and will be updating you on what’s discussed if you can’t join us.

Mr. Albert is the author of Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow. Homeschooling and the Curriculum of Love(2006), as well as author and editor of several other books about homeschooling. He is a homeschooling dad, writer, and storyteller. He has two teenage daughters, one 15 and one 18. The oldest is an undergraduate at Smith College in Northampton Massachusetts.

David Albert’s own website is called Skylark Sings! The site features his books, essays and articles he has written for various magazines, and resources for homeschoolers. There is also information about his charitable works, India Projects, which support child welfare and community development projects in South India.

If you’d like to participate in the chat, please visit Mothering before chat time, as you will need to register a screen name and read their participation rules before joining in.

Looks like it’ll be an interesting and informative chat! Hope to see you there!

parenting teens, parenting teenagers, homeschoolers, homeschooling, David Albert, Mothering, Skylark Sings, homeschooling resources, Have Fun. Learn Stuff. Grow. Homeschooling and the Curriculum of Love, India Projects, parenting

If you have a teenager who’ll be heading off to college next year and will need financial aid (and these days, who doesn’t), it’s time to start applying for it. This means filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This is about as much fun as your average root canal, but it has to be done.

Their website is a great source of infomation and, these days, you can even fill out the form, sign it electronically, and submit it online. Saves a lot of time from the old days when you had to submit it via snail mail and worry about whether it would get there on time! Of course, before you can fill out the form online, you must print out and fill in the 8-page FAFSA worksheet, so it doesn’t really save you any handwriting. But having the worksheet filled in will make filling in the actual form a breeze!

The site is really a great one-stop shop where you can fill out the form, have your questions regarding financial aid answered, check on the status of the application, once it is filed, and even find the codes for the schools to which you want to send the information. It’s a great time-save over my own days of filling out FAFSA, which required trips to counselor’s offices, etc., to find all the information I needed.

Be sure to check out the deadline dates for filing for financial aid, including your state’s deadline and the deadlines of the schools your teen is interested in attending. These may differ from the federal deadline and some schools require them in the spring for the following fall semester. Missing those deadlines could mean your student could miss out on financial aid opportunities at the school itself.

Oh, and you will need your tax information, so if you haven’t filled out those nasty forms yet either…

FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, college, financial aid, teens, teenagers, parenting