Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Parents in Denial Over Kids' Weight

A startling number of parents may be in denial about their youngsters' weight. A recent survey found that many Americans whose children are obese do not see them that way.

Among parents with an obese, or extremely overweight, child ages 6 to 11, 43 percent said their child was "about the right weight," 37 percent responded "slightly overweight," and 13 percent said "very overweight." Others said "slightly underweight."

For those with an obese child ages 12 to 17, the survey found more awareness that weight was a problem. Fifty-six percent said their child was "slightly overweight," 31 percent responded "very overweight," 11 percent said "about the right weight" and others said "slightly underweight."

The findings are worrisome because obese children run the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and other ailments more commonly found in adults. And overweight children are likely to grow up to be overweight adults.

Source: Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i32MvpflIuUGhfXPqy4RjbpV-VVQD8TO02380

Another recent study indicated that this generation of kids is projected to have decreased life expectancy largely due to the increase in heart disease rates that will impact them due to being overweight. Even if you don't have an overweight child, as a parent, you can take intentional and reasonable steps to move your kids in a more healthy direction by cutting down on fast food and junk food, providing healthy meals and portion sizes at home, and encouraging regular exercise.

As a kid growing up in the 1960s, my parents were real "meat & potatoes" type adults, as many of their generation were. I remember on the rare occasion of having steaks for dinner, my dad would ask me if I was going to eat my fat, because if I wasn't, he sure would! I remember when the first McDonalds came to my neighborhood. The burgers and fries were great and cheap, so we ate there a lot. So, I grew up eating lots of fast food and junk food (Hostess Ding-Dongs were high on my list!) I went from being a skinny young kid to a tubby pre-adolescent. I slimmed down as a teen thanks largely to involvement in sports. But,  as a young adult, in my earlier years as a youth pastor, I took kids out for lunch at fast food joints, hung out at them after youth group meetings and have eaten two lifetimes of pizza. And now... I have heart disease. I am sure that the seeds of my disease were sown in my childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. We just didn't know any better back then! WE DO NOW!

TV’s Perfect Girl Is Pregnant; Real Families Talk

In schools and shopping malls and around the dining room table, the subject of teenage pregnancy and sex was suddenly and uncomfortably in the air as mothers and daughters and fathers, too, talked about — or tried not to talk about — the pregnancy of 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, who plays the perfect, well-liked and, it is understood, virginal teenage girl on “Zoey 101” on Nickelodeon.

High school girls here wondered aloud on Thursday why no one was talking about contraception. Parents across the country, on the other hand, commiserated over the Internet about how, thanks to Ms. Spears, they were facing a conversation with their 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds about sex.

“Nowadays, nothing’s safe, not even cartoons,” Diana Madruga, who has an 11-year-old daughter, said as she wrapped up her shift as the manager of a Dunkin’ Donuts here in the Boston suburbs.

Shopping at American Girl Place, the doll store, in Manhattan, Sharon Carruthers said she had used the news as an opportunity to talk about the dangers of teenage pregnancy with her 10-year-old daughter, Yasmine. “I want my daughter’s mind in the real world,” said Ms. Carruthers, who is from Deptford, N.J. “But this is not what my daughter is going to do in her life. She knows better. She knows right and wrong.”

Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/us/21girl.html?ref=health

There's lots of information coming out about Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy via television, the Internet, newspapers, and magazines. It's been next to impossible to miss hearing something about the news. In the wake of the news, parents are wondering how to address the issue with their kids, especially those "Tweens" that have idolized Spears' character on Nick's "Zoey 101." While parents understandably might want to retain the innocence of their kids and not get into a discussion about it with them, the widespread nature of the news and the fact that kids will hear about Jamie Lynn's pregnancy makes it all the more necessary to engage in some kind of age appropriate conversation. Although the situation is unfortunate, it actually presents a perfect opportunity to begin or continue conversations with kids about purity, morals, values, sexuality and the consequences unwed teen moms face in today's world.

If you need some ideas for where to start, HomeWord has a good number of free articles on the topic of teenage sexuality. Click on the titles below to view the various articles.

Talking to Your Kids About Sex

Positive Value-Centered Sex Education

Everybody Isn't Doing It

Current Information on Adolescent Sex & Sexuality

What Does the Bible Say About Sex?

Answers to Teens' Questions About Sex & Sexuality

Early Sexual Activity May Curb Teen Delinquency

Teens who start having sex at an early age may be less likely to engage in delinquent behavior in early adulthood than teens who wait until they're older to have sex, a new U.S. study finds.

The findings contradict the widely held belief that early sexual activity is associated with later drug use, criminality, antisocial behavior, and emotional problems. For example, two studies published earlier this year in the same journal found a link between early teen sex and later behavioral problems.

"We got a very surprising finding, particularly that early sex seems to forecast less antisocial behavior a few years later, rather than more," lead researcher Kathryn Paige Harden, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia, said in a prepared statement.

From their analysis of data on 534 same-sex twin pairs collected between 1994 and 2002, the researchers also concluded that sex at an earlier age may help teens develop better social relationships in early adulthood.

The study is published in the current online edition of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/071116/early-sexual-activity-may-curb-teen-delinquency.htm

Okay, so it is interesting to find a study that contradicts the findings of other studies. Perhaps the researchers were hoping to confirm previous findings. And yes, it's just one study. But, that doesn't mean we should sweep its findings under the rug either. Maybe teen sexual activity might "calm" some adolescents down and make it less likely they'll get involved in delinquent behaviors. But, there are also studies to the contrary too! So what is a parent supposed to do in light of studies where findings conflict? "Sure, son! Go ahead and have sex with your girlfriend. I sure don't want you to become a juvenile delinquent!" I don't think so!

Even in time and through more research, should it be proved that teen sexual activity does indeed curb delinquency, it would say nothing about the need to help kids to form healthy morals and values. What about the damage that can be done emotionally to kids who have sex early on? What about the slowing of the ability to develop emotional and spiritual intimacy when kids get in over their heads physically? What about developing a godly sense of right and wrong? These too are key issues which were not addressed in the current research. Even if early sex does result in less delinquent behavior, I've got to believe that there are better ways to address behavioral problems than to encourage teen sexual activity.

For more information about teaching kids positive, value centered sex-education, click here.

Spears' Parenting Book Off After Teen Pregnancy

Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson said on Wednesday it has called off a parenting book written by Lynne Spears -- the mother of troubled pop star Britney Spears and her pregnant 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn.

"We have postponed the book indefinitely," said Lindsey Nobles, spokeswoman for Tennessee-based publisher.

The working title for the book was "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World." Described by the publisher as "a parenting book that's going to have faith elements to it," it had been set for publication on Mother's Day in May 2008.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1961367220071220?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

All-nighters May Not Improve Grades

A survey of 120 students at St. Lawrence University, a small liberal arts college in northern New York, found that students who have never pulled an all-nighter have average GPAs of 3.2, compared to 2.95 for those who have. The study, by assistant professor of psychology Pamela Thacher, is to be included in the January issue of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

Many college students, of course, have inadequate or irregular sleep, for reasons ranging from excessive caffeine to poor time management.
Source: Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_us/all_nighters

As long as there will be college students, there will be all-nighters. Many of us have been there ourselves. In my experience, myself included, poor time management was the biggest contributor. College students typically have the freedom to study when they have free time, but many opt to put off studying until they are up against the clock. I think it's likely that kids who have never pulled an all-nighter have established discipline in making their studies a priority over other free time activities.

Parents of pre-college age kids will do well to help encourage the importance of building good study habits and time management, providing them with an asset that will help them when they head off to college.

Jamie Lynn Spears Says She's Pregnant

Another Spears baby is reportedly on the way — and it's not Britney's. Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old Zoey 101 star and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she's pregnant and that the father is her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.
"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," she said. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he."

Spears is 12 weeks along and initially kept the news to herself when she learned of the pregnancy from an at-home test and subsequent doctor visit, she told the celebrity magazine, which hits stands in New York on Wednesday and the rest of the country by Friday.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-12-18-spears-pregnancy_N.htm