September 2009 Archives
I know a bunch of you are small business owning mama’s and I want you to listen to me closely: Count Me In is the place to be if you are hoping to grow your business and be a fully successful entrepreneur.
I’m in the Houston Airport on my way home from the CMI Leadership Conference in phenomenally humid Boca Raton, FL, catching up on my blogging, and I am reinvigorated, inspired and really ready to take Birds + Bees + Kids to the next level.
Three days with 100 business women talking, laughing and learning about ourselves, our businesses, and being supported by Nell Merlino and her remarkable staff is what I needed to refocus my energy.
Nell started Take Our Daughters to Work Day – and this is a woman who can start a movement. I’d suggest you hitch your wagon to the CMI star and watch your business grow.
Check out their website, watch the video, learn about the organization, join the Make Mine a Million Race and let me know if you have any questions.
As Nell says - Believe in You.
My casual chats are on Mondays and start at 7:30 and end at 8:30. Bring your buring questions, curiosity and we'll have some fun.
Mosaic Coffeehouse is located in Seattle in the Wallingford Neighborhood behind Dick's on 45th.
4401 2nd, Ave, NE, Seattle
October 5, 2009
November 2, 2009
December 7, 2009
January 4, 2010
February 1, 2010
Young people commonly engage in risky sexual behaviors (sex at a young age and/or unprotected sex) and increasingly are at risk for STDs and pregnancy, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report, Sexual and Reproductive Health of Persons Aged 10--24 Years --- United States, 2002—2007, analyzes sexual health and behavior data from a number of surveillance systems. The latest findings indicate:
- A majority of 18 and 19 year olds (70.6% of females; 64.7% of males) report having had sex.
- Approximately 30% of males and females ages 15-17 say they have had sex.
- Roughly 30% of 15-19 years olds report having multiple partners.
More than two-thirds of adolescents say they’ve received guidance in using contraceptives, and nearly 70% of male and females ages 15-19 used condoms at first intercourse.
Still, sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) are increasing among young people, and the authors say the numbers may reflect the advent of better screening programs. Regardless, the news isn’t encouraging: In 2006, nearly 22,000 youth were living with HIV, and approximately 1 million had a reportable sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis).
Thanks much to www.radicalparenting.com for making my books their featured books a couple of weeks ago.
If you don't know who they are, Radical Parenting is run by a 24 year old woman, Vanessa Van Petten, who wrote her first parenting book at age 17! Not to worry, she's not a parent - just a person who's been parented. She and her team of teenage writers help us become better parents by letting us into their world.
Here are their Parenting Prinicples and man, are they right on!
1) There are no ‘perfect parents’, formulas, easy answers or a ‘right’ way to parent. There is a right way for your family, you have to constantly strive to find it.
2) Live the You-Them-You Perspective. Learning to see how the other side feels is one of the most difficult ideas to master. Adopting this yourself and teaching your kids to think about their needs and then other’s needs is a wonderful way to teach children gratitude and perspective. We hope to give you tools to do this.
3) Constantly challenge what we think we know. ‘Radical’ means to question the status quo and what isn’t working. This is how we grow as a family and as human beings. Find your mirror, whether it is our blog, a radical parenting friend, or your spouse to examine patterns and habits that are not working.
4) Stay open-minded. We never know what another person is really thinking. Parents and kids who remain open-minded and open to suggestions have less fights, resentment and guilt.
5) Guilt is not a tool we use. This is a hard one, but we will always try to help you end guilt cycles and passive aggressiveness—help us too!
6) Communicate the hard stuff. Maintain and push for open and honest communication even if it is difficult to say or hear.
7) Abundance in love. You can never express your love for your family members too much.
8 ) Regular weekly Family Bonding Time. Spending quality (not necessarily) quantity time with your family is essential to working out issues, forming bonds and getting to know the unique needs of your family.
9) Monthly Family Check-Ins. Having one family check-in per month and at each family check-in filling out a family sheet for each family member and making new family goals. This is a way for you to become accountable to each other and help other family members achieve their goals.
10) Asking for help from your community. Ask for help from friends, family or other Radical Parent Community members when you need it, you do not have to be alone. Start your own Radical Support Group.
Check it out yourself! www.radicalparenting.com
What do teens and adults really think?
Take a minute and check out this report from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy – one of my favorite resources to keep up with teens and sex.
It’s called “With One Voice – America’s Teens and Adults Sound Off About Teen Pregnancy” and is chock full of some very interesting information. One of the most interesting things is how differently adults and teens see the same issues.
Nearly 50% of teens say their parents are the most influential when it comes to making decisions about sex, while only 34% of parents believe this to be the case. Or this little nugget: 89% of parents say they’ve had a “meaningful” conversation about sex and about 71% of teens say they have. A wee disconnect there, huh?
66% of teens agree that their parents don’t know what to say, when or how to say it when it comes to sex. The good news is that 88% of parents think this too. So we’ve managed to fake it pretty well! I’d love to see the percentage of teens that think we don’t know what we’re doing somewhere in the 20% range.
What can you do to help bring this number down? I suspect that by just opening the door to conversations, their opinions will begin to shift.
Read the whole thing – lots of diagrams, so easy reading!
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/national-data/pdf/WOV2007_fulltext.pdf
I posted a surprisingly conversation producing tidbit on Facebook (you can become my friend to see the full conversation) the other day – “Children don’t need privacy unless they are on the pot or getting dressed.” A lot of Mamas chimed in about this off-handed comment of mine.
For starters, as my comment reads, this isn’t entirely what I meant – it’s only part of my beliefs about kids and privacy. So here’s the scoop, from my perspective.
Young kids don’t need privacy – unless they are getting dressed, or using the potty, or (don’t freak out here) “self stimulating” – you know, touching their naughty bits. When they have friends over, there isn’t any reason to close their bedroom doors. Anything they are doing should be something they could be doing in the middle of the living room.
I know you all remember playing furiously in your best friend’s bedroom with the door closed and 90% of the time it was just innocent fun. Sometimes, the play can be sexual in nature – like looking at or even sometimes touching private body parts. This can happen spontaneously out of another game or, if it isn’t “natural and healthy” can be instigated by a kid who has experienced some sexualized contact or possibly been sexually abused.
This is why I like the door at my house left open when my boy has friends over. And, to paraphrase my friend Leah, “Their brains go out the door when they are in a group and they hatch crazy plans, wreck things, bully and all sorts of not okay stuff.”
Tweens and teens are slightly different animals – I still think they don’t need privacy when they have friends over – leaving the door cracked will still allow them the feeling of privacy, but not the sealed off feeling of the door being fully closed. Diaries, online communication, texting, cell phones, the list is long. And do I need to mention the sex thing? Where and when do you stick your nose in?
Trust came up over and over again in the Facebook conversation. I don’t see this as a matter of trust, per se, more one of practicality. But ultimately, it is up to you – the parent – to decide what is going to work for your family and your kids. This is truly a values issue.
So – I’ll put it to you – how much privacy do you think kids need?
