Staggering Teen Statistics Parents Need To Know

While perusing the latest MSNBC.com Headline, I came a cross a rather upsetting article about teen suicide attempts.  Being that I have a teenager, I must stay in the loop of understanding what makes them tick.  Well needless to say, this article led me to some additional interesting Centers for Disease Control statistics that I need to share with my teen as well as my readers!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their annual Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report and the numbers are pretty scary. The ones that caught my attention the most were related to bullying, teen suicide, sex, alcohol, and drugs.

Check out the ones that caught my eye:

Nationwide, 70.8% of students had had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during their life (i.e., ever drank alcohol). The prevalence of having ever drunk alcohol was higher among black female (66.1%) than black male (60.9%) students.

Nationwide, 20.5% of students had drunk alcohol (other than a few sips) for the first time before age 13 years.

During the 30 days before the survey, 24.1% of students nationwide had ridden one or more times in a car or other vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol.

During the 30 days before the survey, 8.2% of students nationwide had driven a car or other vehicle one or more times when they had been drinking alcohol.

Nationwide, 15.8% of students had seriously considered attempting suicide.

During the 12 months before the survey, 12.8% of students nationwide had made a plan about how they would attempt suicide.

Nationwide, 6.2% of students had had sexual intercourse for the first time before age 13 years.

Nationwide, 15.3% of students had had sexual intercourse with four or more persons during their life.

Nationwide, 16.6% of students had carried a weapon (e.g., a gun, knife, or club).

Nationwide, 20.1% of students had been bullied on school property.

Nationwide, 23.1% of students had used marijuana one or more times.

Nationwide, 11.4% of students had sniffed glue, breathed the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaled any paints or sprays to get high one or more times during their life (i.e., ever used inhalants).

The few statistics above are enough to make you want to home school your children. Well at least I know they do for me. However, we know that we can not shelter our children from this cruel world forever. We must continue to do our part as a responsible parent and constantly communicate with them and remain involved with who they are choosing as friends. I’ve seen some awful things come across my social networking wire these last few years and I pray daily that my child will not be one of the teens I see making bad decisions that will ruin his life forever.

My biggest advice as a parent to other parents, staying alert to your child’s daily activities will help your teen stay alive!

Full CDC Report

More DivaDee Teen News:
Teen Commits Suicide
State of Emergency
How To Parent A Teen

Should We Willingly Give Our Teens Birth Control

Good News:  Teenage Pregnancy and Abortions are down!

Bad News:  More teens are using contraceptives….OR is that really bad news?

Check out what I had to say about this topic and more!

Conservative Christian Families Requesting Minnesota Teach Ex-Homosexual Therapy

It appears somewhere in a Minnesota town the discussion of how to handle homosexuality topics has come across the school board’s desk.  A long with that discussion, is a small group of conservative Christian-based families who are sharing their candid opinions on how children should address the subject.

As reported on Huffingtonpost.com:

A group of conservative Christian parents are demanding Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District teach “ex-homosexual” therapy and “gay-related-immune deficiency” (or “GRID”), the Twin Cities Daily Planet reports.

The demands come as the school district is in the middle of changing their “sexual orientation curriculum policy,” which students claim produces a “hostile school environment” by banning the discussion of LGBT issues.

Zack Ford of Think Progress writes that the parent’s mention of GRID makes the proposal “particularly offensive,” since the the term hasn’t been used by the medical community to describe HIV/AIDS for over 25 years, making it outdated and inaccurate.

But the conservative parents, members of the Parents Action League, want the district to keep the policy in place and double down on anti-gay policies.

A resolution submitted to the district by the Parents Action League includes demands such as providing “pro-family, ex-homosexual, ex-transgender information and websites to all counselors, school psychologists,” according to the Daily Planet.

*wipes forehead* OK, here we go…

Now, I understand that bullying against homosexuals in schools is at an all-time high. And this bullying can ultimately lead to unwanted suicides among teenagers.  But I do have a problem with discussing sexual orientation in detail in a formal school setting.

I really think schools should only focus on educating children about safe sex, proper use of protection, and preventing unwanted pregnancies.   Zoning in on a particular  sexual preference only make children more vulnerable to being bullied or harassed because they may actually be gay or even confused about their sexual orientation.  There are some discussions that should be left in the household.

However, the biggest concern I walked away with after reading this article is that the families who are ‘religious’ based are suggesting that homosexuality is a disease and the students who think they are gay should go through ‘therapy”.  I mean was that just me?  Did I miss the mark here? How are you a believer in a religion that promotes nothing but love and self-acceptance and you are adamantly convinced that gays are doomed for hell.

I definitely don’t want to sound like I am a self-righteous know-it-all in this situation. But what I do know, is that organized religion always seems to put a slant on things to make it beneficial to their beliefs creating a division among people that either lover or hate their religion.  At the end of the day, gay people are actually human and should be treated as such.

There never should be a reason any religious belief forces people to view someone else’s ideals as a viral infection that can be cured with therapy.

Just MyTwoCents.com! 🙂

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Red Tails Shared Through The Eyes Of A Mother And Her Teenage Son

Unless  you’ve been in a witness protection program, you have had no choice but to hear the rumblings about George Lucas’ latest film, Red Tails.  Released this past weekend, it is a story that highlights the amazing accomplishments of the men in the Tuskegee Airmen Program during World War II.

Although this is not the first time the Tuskegee Airmen story was released on film, it was the most memorable for me.   I definitely took advantage of this opportunity to share a moment with my son where he actually learned something from a Hollywood movie about African-American men that didn’t include why going to jail or cheating on your woman was wrong.  Yes, it was a great moment indeed.

This movie gave me so much to feel proud about as a black American.  Walking out of the theater, I felt a renewed sense of pride for my race knowing that men with such integrity, pride, intelligence and great work ethics made such an impact during a time when the United States continued to try and hide their true value.  The movie also rejuvenated my belief in true friendships! It shared the lesson that no matter how angry a friend makes you, you will always be there for that person, through the good, the bad and sometimes death.  I also enjoyed the lesson which reconfirmed that love is truly a universal language and can be understood no matter what native tongue you speak.

But the greatest moment of all for me after watching this film, hearing my teenager tell me that this movie taught him that you can do whatever you want to do with hard work!  Truly Priceless.

So if you’re not sure if Red Tails is a movie that you should see based on the conflicting reviews, trust me you will not feel you’ve wasted one red cent on that ticket.  It is definitely a film worth far more than the price of admission.

Georgia Teachers Give Third Graders Slavery Inspired Math Problems

Imagine sitting down with your 8-year-old preparing to tackle some math homework.  You start reading through the math problems and discover this question:  “Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”

What would you do?

Well Christopher Braxton, a parent of a Gwinett County’s Beaver Ridge Elementary 3rd grader, shared his absolute disgust with Atlanta ABC News affiliate,  WSB-TV.

As reported on Yahoo!:

Christopher Braxton told ABC News affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta that he couldn’t believe the assignment his 8-year-old son brought home from Beaver Ridge Elementary school in Norcross.

“It kind of blew me away,” Braxton said. “Do you see what I see? Do you really see what I see? He’s not answering this question.”

The question read, “Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”

Another math problem read, “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”

Another question asked how many baskets of cotton Frederick filled.

“I was furious at that point,” Braxton said.

“This outrages me because it just lets me know that there’s still racists,” said Stephanie Jones, whose child is a student at the school.

“Something like that shouldn’t be imbedded into a kid of the third, fourth, fifth, any grade,” parent Terrance Barnett told WSB-TV. “I’m having to explain to my 8-year-old why slavery or slaves or beatings are in a math problem. That hurts.”

“In this one, the teachers were trying to do a cross-curricular activity,” Gwinnett County school district spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.

Roach said the teachers were attempting to incorporate social studies into math problems.

“We understand that there are concerns about these questions, and we agree that these questions were not appropriate,” she said.

Being an Atlanta resident, this type of thing doesn’t surprise me.  As a Florida native, I have learned that racism whether subtle or blatant still exists.  As I shared in my Reflection 2011 Post, I continue to be disappointed in the level of racism that this country has allowed to run rampant over the last four years with an African-American President in office.

But to slide racially tainted discussions in the baby’s homework though…C’mon Son! I know teachers are always looking for creative ways to get children to learn but this is a bit much.  Why is slavery even being discussed at this age? I am aware that it is a part of our American history and will be taught in our school systems but there are some things that should be left at a high school discussion level.

We must  do better people!

Let me know your thoughts by taking the poll or leaving a comment below:

High School Student Whose Cyber Cries Went Unheard Commits Suicide

While most media outlets remain focused on the Penn State Child Sex Scandal, Ashley Billasano was making her last valiant attempt to reach out for help against her sexual abusers one keystroke at a time.   Unfortunately, her cyber cries went unheard and the 18-year-old high school student committed suicide.

As reported on HuffingtonPost.com:

“I went to the bathroom and locked the door,” 18-year-old Ashley Billasano tweeted.

“I took apart a razor. I did what I had to do to forget. I swear after that night I was never the same.

“In her 144 tweets over 6 hours, Billasano allegedly claimed that she had been molested by a family member and forced into prostitution. She also detailed her unsuccessful attempt at seeking justice.

“It is my understanding she made an outcry apparently a year ago in Williamson County up close to Austin about some allegations of sexual abuse,” Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department Chief Craig Brady told FOX News. “My understanding, that was looked into the sheriff’s office there, the D.A’S office and a grand jury. There was no indictment issued.”

The disgust and sadness I felt after reading this report and the PSU sex scandal made my stomach turn. I’m not sure what’s going on with our decision-making skills America, but we are failing our children one bad decision at a time! I understand there are some children who suffer from delusions of grandeur and create horrible stories for attention; but there is absolutely no excuse a child has to reach out to a social network to plead for help against a sexual predator.

Unfortunately in Ashley’s case, her pleas went unheard and she felt her only option out of her pain was to end her life.

Let’s please open up a clear communication channel to our children and go back to the ‘It Takes A Village to Raise a Child’ mindset.   You never know what difference you can make in a child’s life by simply listening to their thoughts and acting appropriately when we feel they may be in danger.  It’s simply what children expect from adults and what our Creator intended.

My prayers go out to the family of Ashley.  May she rest in heavenly grace and enjoy the peace she was seeking.

 Above the Bright Blue Sky written by Albert Midlane

There’s a Friend for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
A Friend who never changes
Whose love will never die;
Our earthly friends may fail us,
And change with changing years,
This Friend is always worthy
Of that dear name he bears.

There’s a home for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
Where Jesus reigns in glory,
A home of peace and joy;
No home on earth is like it,
Nor can with it compare;
And everyone is happy,
Nor could be happier there.

Germaphobe Mom Gets Banned from Arizona McDonalds

Just when McDonald’s announced the McMysteryMeat McRib is back, a University Professor and mother of four, Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan, gets banned from several McDonald’s in Arizona’s East Valley.

Apparently Dr. Carr-Jordan has campaigned against dirty restaurant playgrounds and has shouted from her laboratory how nasty the McDonald’s PlayPlaces are.  After being notified of her ban, she continues to work with a group of volunteers to scrape up the evidence she needs and have her concerns addressed.

Per AZfamily.com, a McDonald’s spokesman gave the following statement:

“We take feedback about our restaurants extremely seriously. Over the past several months we have engaged in open and honest dialogue with Dr. Carr-Jordan in an effort to address her concerns and review her findings.

“We are still committed to doing this. It appears that recent actions by Dr. Carr-Jordan have become disruptive to the employees and customers within our franchisee’s restaurants, which prompted the letter from his attorney.

“We remain committed to working with an internal team on ensuring that our PlayPlaces are clean and safe for all customers.”

Hey, I aint mad at momma professor for taking a stand against a popular restaurant franchise in the name of children safety. I applaud her efforts and truly hope that this will start a clean-up revolution across the world for McDonald’s PlayPlaces. I just think she needs to work on her timing a bit. I mean the McRib only shows up once every 5 years or so and missing out on that taste mystery meat has to be heartbreaking!

To get a full report of Dr. Carr-Jordan’s findings click here: KidsPlaySafe