Learning More About MySpace

Electronic communication has merged into every aspect of our lives today. Social networking for your teenagers and tweens is now taking place on the MySpace web site. It has become the main hub for people to meet each other. The MySpace can be used for many positive things such as connecting with peers to discuss homework and projects. It can help introverted individuals be more interactive and creative with their communication. Also your teen can find support for their interests and strengths.

The negative side is that your child's personal information is out there for the world to see. MySpace does not protect your child from internet predators. One way to intercede is to create your own MySpace site and spend a few hours browsing to learn what the excitement is all about.

If your child is under 14 years of age you might want to explore Facebook, Xanga and Imbee as an alternative. The more you understand and know what your child is involved in, the safer your child will be.

Have fun learning with your child.
Gina

Coping with a Serious Illness

When a family member or a close friend is diagnosed with a serious illness the most important thing you can do is make sure they feel truly cared about. The illness should not be a secret and all family members and children should be told. If children are not told of the illness they will sense a change in the family and become very anxious, thinking that they may be the cause of the problem. Children are also very nurturing and can bring joy and laughter to a very stressful situation. As family and friends ask how they can help and support you during this time, be specific with your needs. It may be helping with your carpool, taking the person to doctor appointments, fixing meals or just running errands. It will be important that you learn as much about the illness as possible, so everyone can be prepared for the potential outcome. As you are supporting others during this time of illness, it will also be important that you take care of yourself. It is very difficult to meet the needs of others, if you haven't replenished your own.

Take care,
Gina

A Resolution Check-up

After the first thirty days of making your New Year's resolutions you may have discovered that you are already back to your old self-destructive habits. This is a good time to do a self-check and determine if you are still taking baby steps toward your goals.

Teresa Fassihi, PhD from Menniger Clinic has five steps to take toward being successful with your personal goals.

• Clarify your values.
• Set priorities.
• Set a challenging but achieveable goal.
• Develop an action plan and set a deadline - a goal without an action plan is only a wish.
• Build in small rewards to keep you motivated.

When individuals are not successful with their New Year's resolutions it is usually because they have unrealistic goals or goals that they are not committed to. Create a plan that is realistic to your lifestyle and break your goal into small steps so that you can be successful. You are in control of you. The choice is yours. Love yourself enough to make the needed changes in your life.

Take care,

Gina

Be a Mentor and Make a Difference

Mentoring programs are currently recruiting for caring adults to build trusting relationships with young people. Mentoring is a structured, nurturing relationship that matches young people to supportive adults who can offer guidance and encouragement to young people as they develop their competence and character.

Research indicates that mentoring programs are more successful if they are driven by the needs and interests of the youth instead of the expectations of the adult volunteers. Research also states that success is related to a high level of personal interaction between the mentor and the mentee, along with a commitment from the mentee. The longer the mentoring relationship lasts, the more positive the outcomes. Some studies report that young people who have participated in mentoring programs display positive educational, health, and social benefits from the experience.

• Educational achievement: Mentored youth tend to have better attendance, a higher likelihood to pursue college, and more positive attitude while in school.
• Heath and Safety: Mentoring helps prevent substance abuse and detour other high negative risk behaviors among the youth.
• Social and Emotional Development: Youth in mentoring programs display more positive social attitudes toward their peers and their parents.

Explore the different mentoring programs in your community to find a good match for your interests and abilities. There is a young person out there waiting for your guidance.

Have fun!

Gina

What is Your Parenting Style?

New research is stating that parenting style is associated with how your children make decisions and a 500% difference in childhood obesity. There are four main parenting styles that were identified.

Authoritarian parents make all the decisions for their children. Authoritative parents involve the child in the decision making process. Permissive parents allows the children to make decisions for themselves with their parents awareness and unengaged parents allow children to make decisions without their involvement.

Authoritative parenting seems to teach children how to regulate their own behaviors. These children were found to have lower rates of childhood obesity and smoking, better grades in school, fewer symptoms of depression and a better control of diabetes.

William J Mayer, MD, MPH had the following suggestions:

• Be respectful of your child's opinions.
• Set limits with pre-arranged consequences and then follow thru with them.
• Give you child choices that you can live with.
• Set a good example by your own behavior.

By parenting with a more authoritative approach to parenting your child should achieve a healthier and happier life.

Happy Parenting

Gina

How to Raise a Happy Child

Every parent looks for advice on how to raise a happy, independent child in a materialistic world. It is one of the toughest jobs you will ever has as an adult because you won't receive the results of your hard work for more than a decade. That is a long time to wait for feedback.
Edward M. Hallowell M.D. gives five simple steps for building lifelong joy inside every child.

• Connection - Unconditional love from an adult helps to foster self-confidence, and the knowledge that your child is loved and cared for.
• Strengths - Support your child as they learn new things and develop their strengths. This will give them knowledge in how to deal with disappointment and pain. They also learn to never give up and the need to keep trying.
• Imagination - A child will learn through their play. Unstructured play strengthens their imagination, teaches critical problem-solving skills and social skills.
• Mastery - When a child masters a task they develop confidence, leadership skills, initiative and knowledge of hard work.
• Recognition- Recognizing a child for their hard work and positive choices will continue to build relationships and self-worth.

You cannot buy happiness for your child. Spend time with your child and value your child for the person that he/she is and will become.

Best wishes

Gina

A Healthier You in 2007

January is alway a time of reflection and setting goals for the New Year. Wayne Geilman, Ph.D., a nutrition and food consultant has created a list of seven simple steps for a healthier you in 2007.

• Eat seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
• Take the stairs and burn an extra 10 calories a minute.
• Stop and smell the roses to elevate your mood and relax.
• Get at least seven hours of sleep to replenish your body.
• Drink at least eight glasses of water daily and your coffee and sodas don't count!
• Take a daily vitamin supplement to make sure you have all of your required nutrients each day.
• Eat probiotics to support your digestive system and protect it against bad bacteria.

When you take care of yourself you are able to love and serve others in a healthier way. Maintain your balance of mind, body and spirit for a blessed 2007.

Until next week,

Gina