Kids are back in school. Maybe your child, or their classmates, have a brand new phone. At the beginning of every school year, there tends to be a lot of bullying and other problematic behavior happening online. For this reason, at the beginning of every school year, I suggest parents do a cyber safety tune-up of their child's digital safety. Whether you have already done some of the suggestions below, or you are new to your child's digital world, cyber safety is an on-going conversation and these issues deserve our attention. As parents, we need to stay engaged in our children's lives and the digital world is a big part of it.

How can parents and schools combat this trend? For one thing, we can connect our students with the real facts about the chemicals and nicotine that are in most e-cigarettes and in JUULs, a popular stealth vape device. Edutopia reported that a recent survey by the Truth Initiative found that 63 percent of 15- to 24-year-old previous 30-day users surveyed did not know that vapor pods, which come in hundreds of kid-friendly flavors like gummy worms, cotton candy, and unicorn puke, contain highly addictive nicotine—a single pod containing 200 puffs can have just as much as a pack of Marlboros or Camels. 

Growing up is getting harder and harder these days, and it’s happening a lot sooner than it once did. Parents want and need to talk to their kids about life topics like self-esteem and confidence, friendship, safety, peer pressure, sex, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, and healthy relationships. We need to be sure to have meaningful conversations like these often and spend quality time together. As parents know, this is easier said than done. Below are some specific evidence-based reasons to try to establish a positive connection and meaningful communication with your teen, and strategies that will help you succeed. 

We are sharing this helpful article originally published in Forbes and Psychology Today with our SBFC audience. Amy Morin is a psychotherapist and the author of, Thirteen Things Mentally Strong People Don’t do.

“Let’s stop judging. Please don’t say ‘not my kid.’ Please listen,” said Howorth to over 60 attendees at a panel titled “Our Kids and Opioids: It’s Time to Talk.” Joining Mayor Howorth were Cynthia Strand, a Manhattan Beach mom who lost her son to opioid addiction and Dr. Moe Gelbart, executive director of the Torrance Memorial Thelma McMillen Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment. 

My youngest brother became a stoner by his junior year in high school. By his senior year of college, he was a heroin addict. I will not bore you with my family history, but basically, great family, great parents, grew up in an affluent area.There did not appear to be any reason that my brother would become a heroin addict, none. But he did.

I felt so many emotions. I felt sad for her and for the other girls in the friend group.  There is that spot where I just wanted to fix it for her, but of course that”s not possible. I also felt grateful. Grateful that because of the journey with my first daughter, I would get a do-over of sorts. How could I support my 13 year old best?

As I watched my son walk toward me across the school lawn to my car, I studied his face and posture in anticipation of his report on how his day had gone at middle school.  The afterschool pick-up routine had come to include a conversation about the mean remarks, dirty stares and shoves he’d received from the other students; boys he had grown up with since Kindergarten.  Remembering the helplessness I felt in those moments causes my chest to tighten

My hardest days at work are the ones where I am sitting with a suicidal teenager. Unfortunately, it is far more common in the South Bay than many people would guess.

I could see her guard coming down as she looked at me. “Mom, sometimes I study for a test and I do well on it and other times I study the same amount and I fail it, so I’ve stopped trying because it doesn’t seem to matter anymore.”

In a blink of an eye, my husband and I found ourselves raising a teenager. Always active in the lives of our three sons, ages 15, 12, and 9, nothing quite prepared us for the terrain of our eldest son's adolescent landscape.

I recently learned about the concept of Highly Sensitive People, and realized that one of my children absolutely exhibited so many of the traits associated with highly sensitive people. I can’t help but wish I had been able to identify this trait, make her aware of it, and help her navigate a daily routine more compatible with her biological predisposition.

In my first two blogs I discussed the pitfalls and challenges parents face regarding their children’s usage of technology. I explored the importance of parents developing the mindset of becoming “digital parents” and the benefits of conversations wherein technology can be realistically discussed and managed in the home. This blog will address the strategies and interventions that might be additionally helpful

As every individual has a unique view of his or her world, finding the way to an improved outlook or emotional perspective must come from within.

It is important to remember a bully’s opinion can never be your truth. It is crucial to know that what will really hurt you is not the bullying.  What really does damage is whether you keep that anger and hurt in your heart, because that is what’s really hard to fix.  Stand up for yourself. You have more strength than you can imagine.

Homework, projects, exams, college applications, after school activities, sports, games, and so on. There’s so much going on that causes stress and anxiety…and I’m talking about us parents! Yes, you, me, us. As I start my 21st year as an educator, eight of which were as a principal, I’ve come to realize just how impactful parents are at reducing, or, increasing the stress level in their child…and many times we don’t even know it. 

  Becoming a “digital media parent” requires one to be aware of how one’s own relationship with technology is being modeled. One’s own behavior and attitude will set the tone for whether technology can be a positive source for learning and entertainment or a substitute for conversation, boredom, and responsibility