Teen Anger Provoked by Parents

If you hadn't noticed, teenagers are in an overactive state of emotion most of the time. It doesn't take much to bring them to the point of exasperation. They can only take so much pressure before they shut down or act out of frustration or anger instead of clear or right thinking. Sometimes they're provoked to the point of putting up walls of protection around themselves.

read more >>
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/teen_anger_provoked.html

Saving Children of Sex Trafficking

Childabuse.com and Ark of Hope for Children proudly presents Harbourage, a safe harbor community designed around the needs of rescued child sex trafficking victims

We need your help to fund Safe homes for children rescued from sex trafficking, visit
http://www.childabuse.com/safe_harbourage.html

What's This Teen Cutting Thing

Some young people today live in a world that goes "over the edge." The "edge" of pain doesn't stop them in their pursuit of eliminating boredom and creating excitement. Piercing, branding, cutting, tattoos, cosmetic surgery, reality shows, and expressive and permissive movies are now a part of the culture. Some say that kids are more "daring" and "extreme." I say they're numb and dissatisfied and pain is a way for some to remind themselves that they're still alive, a comment I hear from a number of cutters. Sadly, finding a kid who "cuts" (a form of self harm) is pretty common today. A topic that 20 years was unheard of on the radio or in Christian social circles is the focus of many discussions among parents and commonplace among teens.
read more >> http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/teen_cutting_thing.html

Giving Back Life- Family Health Education Hope

 

Our Mission

To love the hundreds of thousands of abandoned children and orphans in China, while using our gifting's in medicine and education as tools to reaching those in need.

read more and take action to help those in need:
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/givingbacklife.html

Card Project

We will be hand-delivering cards (that you make & design!) to orphanage children and children in rural elementary schools, in the province of GuangXi during this years National Children's Day. Click here to find out how. Help us spread the word, as we need hundreds of cards made!







read more and take action to help those in need:
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/givingbacklife.html

 

Packaged. Love. Project

Orphans in China will be celebrating their biggest and most important holiday, National Children's Day, on June 1, 2014. National Children's Day is considered one of the biggest celebrations in China, especially within the rural villages. The children at the Yu-Lin orphanage have lived a difficult life, so this day is a day to show them that there are people from across the world who care and love them!

read more and take action to help those in need:
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/givingbacklife.html

When a Troubled Teen Causes Marital Strife

Recently, on our Parenting Today's Teens radio program, my guest and good friend, Dr. Melody Rhode commented that the death of a child is such a catastrophic experience in the life of parents; it leads 90% of those marriages to fail. A shocking statistic, isn't it?
In my years of working with thousands of struggling teens and their parents, I've learned that parents of troubled teens experience a similar sense of grief and loss, and also a profound sense of betrayal from their teen. Perhaps their teen has run away or otherwise has totally abandoned the family and everything they hold dear. To these parents it may seem as though a death has occurred, and as such, it similarly puts a great deal of stress on their marriage.

read more:
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/marital_strife_angry_teen.html

Approaching Teens with Grace

When a teenager's behavior is way out of line, when he or she crosses established boundaries and offends us and makes us angry, it is easy to think he or she doesn't deserve grace. But that may be exactly the right time to give it.
Grace � given at just the right moment has the power to change the direction of any struggle, and may ultimately bring it to an end. Grace can bring healing, restoration, and redirect your teen's path.
A biblical definition of grace is this: God's undeserved favor and forgiveness when we've chosen the unforgivable. In human terms, grace is an act of kindness, love, and forgiveness in the face of bad behavior or poor choices. For your teen, it can even extend to outright rebellion and rotten attitudes.

read more:
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/approaching_teens_grace.html

Navigating Your Teen's Universe

It's been said that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. And teens? Well, they seem to be from a completely different universe! Sure, teenagers look human, but the way they speak, the way they dress, and the things they value all seem to point to an origin in a galaxy far, far away.
But maybe I exaggerate. Just because some elements of the new teen culture are alien to us, doesn't mean our kids are from another dimension (even though it can seem that way). Let's face it; the world that our sons and daughters are growing up in is far different than the one in which we were raised. When we wrote a school paper, we had to travel to a place called "the library." Students now have the all the information they need at their fingertips, just by visiting Google. Our TVs carried three stations. Today, teens have access to a thousand different programs, not only on TV, but also on their computers and phones. I grew up respecting coaches, police, clergy, and those in authority. Our teens live in a culture where the flaws and mistakes of those in charge have left them questioning their leaders.

read more:
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/your_teens_universe.html

Preventing Damaging Parenting Habits

I have never heard a mom publicly announce, "I want my daughter to be perfect," and I have never heard a dad audibly declare, "I want to force my authority on my son." And, I've never heard parents say, "We want to be judgmental parents." For I've heard hundreds of daughters say, "My mom wants me to be perfect." And I've heard an equal number of sons say, "My dad rules our home with an iron fist." And I've heard thousands of kids say, "My parents are the most judgmental people I know." Somewhere between our intent and our execution, those can be the very desires we communicate to our kids.
Though we may say we don't demand perfection, don't rule with an iron fist, and that we won't judge our kids, our actions might just be saying otherwise. If we run up against consistent patterns of disregard and disobedience from our teens, perhaps it's time to ask ourselves a tough question: Am I doing something that pushes my kids further away from me?

read more: http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/prevent_damaging_parental_habits.html

Greatest Gift to Your Teen

by Mark Gregston Heartlight Ministries

As parents, we often put a lot of blame on ourselves for what we cannot offer our kids. When Christmas or birthdays roll around, we feel guilty when we can't afford the latest and greatest iPads, video games, designer shoes, or state-of-the-art cell phones. Perhaps we feel embarrassed that, when it comes to housework, we're barely keeping our head above water, and it's all we can do to start the laundry, run the dishwasher, and feed the dog. And if that's not bad enough, we have the tendency to compare ourselves to what other moms and dads can offer their teens. Instead of being able to take a family vacation to Disney World, perhaps all you can do is pack the car up for a weekend with Grandpa and Grandma in Peoria, Illinois (I love people in Peoria; this is just an example). While other teens you know are taking private ski lessons, learning Italian in Europe, or going out to a movie every weekend, you feel like you're letting your teen down because you're not able to offer the same type of experiences. So we start to believe that we don't pass muster as parents.

Read More at Childabuse.com >>
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/greatest_gift_teen.html

Finding Hidden Messages in Your Teen's Inappropriate Behavior

by Mark Gregston Heartlight Ministries

Don't judge; but I'm a fan of the National Treasure movies. Remember those films? They starred Nicholas Cage as Benjamin Gates, a historian and modern fortune hunter who believed that America's national monuments and historical artifacts contained a secret treasure map from the founding fathers. While other researchers and academics laughed at his conspiracy theories, Benjamin Gates eventually proved that underneath the common symbols and landmarks we see in America was a trail of messages pointing to new discoveries.
What does the National Treasure have to do with parenting teens? Just this: Our child's inappropriate behaviors, whether it's blatant disrespect, substance abuse, continuous lying, sexual activity, stealing, out-of-control anger, or spiraling depression, are visible landmarks that stick out in our teen's life. But if we take the time to look underneath these monuments, we will find the true message our teens are trying to convey, but cannot find the words to do so.

Read more at Childabuse.com >>
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/finding_hidden_messages_teen_behavior.html

Dousing The Flame Dealing With Teenage Anger

By Mark Gregston Heartlight Ministries

For Lucas, it started in high school. "I guess I have a face and personality that invites bullies," he told me. Kids in class would ridicule Lucas' clothes, mock his behavior, laugh at where he came from, and deride him constantly. But in teen culture, you can't show weakness. Teens know that if you let on to bullies that they're affecting you, you're giving them an open invitation to continue the abuse. So Lucas put on his impervious face each day, and endured the barrage of mistreatment at school. But that kind of ill-treatment wears you down. "When I would finally come home," explained this young man, "the littlest thing would set me off. I mean, my mom would ask me to take out the trash and I could feel the anger building. At first I wouldn't talk, but that made my mom mad, so eventually all this anger would just, kinda, explode. I would yell, throw things, break things. My mom didn't know what to do."

Read more at Childabuse.com >>
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/dousing_the_flame.html

When Your Teen Gets Into the Wrong Crowd

If you swim with the sharks, you're bound to get bit. One bad apple spoils the whole bushel. Bad company corrupts good character. Many parents have added these phrases to their lexicon, because they illustrate the dangers of running with the "wrong crowd". As moms and dads, we know how susceptible kids are to peer influence. You've likely spent many sleepless nights worrying about the people your child is hanging around. What are they teaching my son? What are they pressuring my daughter to do? Are these friends that will give needed support and encouragement to my teen, or are they the type of people who will bring my child down?

learn more>> http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/teen_wrong_crowd.html

False Sense of Maturity Teaching Teens to be Resonsible

It's probably happened to a lot of dads. Your kid spends his mornings watching you drag yourself to the bathroom mirror, pile some shaving cream in your hand, break out your razor, and start shaving your face. Soon, your son (or maybe even daughter) decides they need to shave too. So you squirt a little cream in their hands, supply them a with tongue depressor, and let them "shave." As you both lean into the vanity mirror, it's hard not to laugh, watching your five-year-old seriously attack the non-existent stubble on his face.

read more>> http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/false_sense_security.html

Child abuse, Know the Red Flags

ACEP News
December 2011
BY SHERRY BOSCHERT
Elsevier Global Medical News

SAN FRANCISCO - The color of a bruise indicates its age. You'll almost always see bruising when a child has a fracture. Sexual abuse leaves behind physical exam findings.

These are all myths that can get in the way of physicians recognizing abuse of an infant or child. Physicians are required by law to report all suspicions of nonaccidental trauma, a catch-all term for child abuse, shaken baby syndrome, and battered-child syndrome.

Physicians can meet that obligation by ignoring these myths, recognizing red flags for nonaccidental trauma, and being familiar with signs of accidental trauma or medical conditions that can mimic the physical findings of nonaccidental trauma, Dr. Maureen D. McCollough said at the Scientific Assembly of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

learn more>> http://childabuse.com/articles/child-abuse-red-flags.html

Communicating with Your Teen

As a child moves from his elementary years into early adolescence, it's essential that the style of communicating with your child change with them. They are moving from "concrete" thinking to "abstract" thought. What was "non-hormonal" now becomes laced with hormones. Total dependence moves closer to independence. While they have always wanted to listen, now they want to express.

It's important for parents to transition with their child, to change their style of communication rather than not talking at all. Sadly, if this transition is not accomplished, then the next time that communication, or lack thereof, shows itself, is when your child begins to struggle or have difficulties, and desperately needs someone to talk to.

Learn More >>http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/communication_teen.html

The Birds and the Bees, Talking to Your Teen about Sex

It's never a conversation a mom or dad wants to have with their child. Talking about sex with your teen or pre-teen is uncomfortable for both you and your kid. There's a level of embarrassment, a fumbling for the right words, perhaps a hesitancy to share or to ask questions. I'll be honest; I've been talking to teens about sex for close to three decades, and it never gets any easier.

learn more>>
http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/birds-bees.html

Releasing your Teen into the World

Your Teen is going out into the world

Very few comments made by high school seniors and college students can scare parents more than when they announce they have plans to go on a medical mission and travel to Guatemala, spend a few weeks in Rwanda with orphan kids, or go to Indonesia to minister to girls involved in the tragic and pathetic sex trade. As they share their excitement and enthusiasm for their hopeful venture, parents shudder with nervousness about all the potential hazards of travel as their child's first campaign to "fly the coop" and "make a difference" silently fade to the background as all the reasons they shouldn't go come to a parent's mind, shouting, "We can't let this happen!"


 http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/releasing_your_teen_world.html"> read more

When Parenting Styles Collide

Parenting teens is hard enough when parents agree on how a child should be parented; and even tougher when parenting styles collide. And the one place that parents should be especially concerned about not allowing confusion is in their own home. Confusion flourishes and relationships flounder when parents can't get their parenting styles to compliment one another, during a time when a teen needs the cohesive and focused team approach by Mom and Dad, whether living in the same house or not.

Parenting Styles sometimes collide, read our newest post on parenting your kids

http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/parenting_styles_collide.html

Dealing with Teen Anger

Dealing with your Teen's Anger can be over whelming. Here is an article that may help guide you to some happier resolutions between you and your teen.
Anger in your teenager can take on many faces. It can be a seething anger kept quietly below the surface, or a tidal wave unleashed on everyone around them. Anger can manifest itself in a covert refusal to comply with your household rules or wishes, or it can lead your teenager to outwardly undermine their own future or even strike out in violence.


read more: http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/angry_teen.html

Curing The Selfish Brat

Teen Brat

Mom and Dad, don't look now, but there could be a monster in your home. This beast's objective is to infiltrate your life, gain control, and rule your family with sarcasm and an iron fist. Now, you may not recognize this monster at first. That's because this fiendish terror disguises itself, using your teen as its innocent host. The scientific name of this monster isBratticus Narcissitcus; but in the vernacular, it's simply called, "a selfish brat." And it can wreak untold damage on your home and your family.

http://www.childabuse.com/authors/marks_corner/selfish_brat.html