Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Awkward Topic: Parents and Money

Parents feel more prepared to give their teens advice on the birds and bees than on investing, according to a study released recently by Charles Schwab. That goes a long way toward explaining why so many kids don't know as much as they could about money management, says Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, chief strategist of consumer education for the financial services firm.

She recommends discussing money around key milestones in a child's life, such as getting a first toy, car, or job, which gives parents a chance to teach kids to save 10 percent of their income. Parents can also involve their kids in daily discussions about family budget decisions, Schwab-Pomerantz says. Schwab's MoneyWise website offers an interactive game and other tools to get the conversation started.

Among the study's other findings:

• Only about one third of parents teach their teens how to balance a checkbook.

• Just under 30 percent of parents explain credit card interest and fees to their teens.

• One in five parents involves teenage children in family budgeting and spending decisions.

• Two thirds of parents think their teens aren't particularly interested in learning about money management, but research suggests that 60 percent of teens believe it's a top priority.

• Seventy percent of parents have taught their kids how to do laundry, but only 23 percent have explained how income taxes work, and just 14 percent have talked about what a 401(k) plan is.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2008/03/27/awkward-topic-parents-and-money.html

Of all of the topics parents desire to teach their kids about to prepare them for life as an adult, finances probably doesn't rank very high, but it is certainly a key topic when it comes to helping kids succeed down the road. If you haven't placed these discussions on your parental "to-do" list, I encourage you to add it! It's never too early to get the discussion going. If you are looking for some ideas on how to start, HomeWord offers several articles to stimulate your thinking. Click on the article titles below...

Teaching Your Kids About the Real Value of Money

Teens and Credit: Handle with Care

Helping Your Kids Become Financially Sound

Introducing KidZui - A "Safe" Web Browser for Kids, Ages 3 to 12

Typically, I won't post much about issues that focus on younger children, but since at HomeWord, we receive a fair amount of inquiries regarding "safe" Internet products (ISPs, filtering software, etc.), I thought I would let readers know about a new web browser that just hit the market (it's a fee-based subscription product) called KidZui. The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article about it and I'm passing along the information...

The Internet presents a real dilemma for parents with younger children. On the one hand, it's filled with fun and wholesome sites for kids, and lots of educational material. On the other, it teems with inappropriate content and potentially dangerous means of communicating with strangers.

There are tools for dealing with the problem, most commonly, filtering software that attempts to bar sexual, violent and other objectionable material. But these can frustrate kids and parents, by either blocking too many things or not blocking enough.

Some other approaches, such as the parental controls built right into the latest Windows and Macintosh operating systems, offer parents more control by allowing them to specify what Web sites a child can access. But that requires close and constant involvement by the parent as the child seeks access to more Web sites.

This week marks the launch of a parental-control service with a somewhat different approach. It's called KidZui, and it aims to offer kids a safe subset of the Internet where they can roam freely without triggering parental worry. KidZui, for children ages 3 to 12, hopes to emphasize the positive, rather than the negative.

The service, from a San Diego company of the same name, claims to encompass 500,000 safe sites, photos and videos, ranging from pop culture to science, comics and games to history. You can watch the latest "American Idol" contestant, learn about dinosaurs, delve into history or visit popular kids' sites, such as Webkinz and Club Penguin.

The sites, photos and videos included in KidZui are approved by a team of about 200 parents and teachers across the country, and are ranked by age, so that a site that might be right for an 11-year-old isn't served up to a 4-year-old.

While a child can establish a list of friends in KidZui, and can share content with them, there is no instant-messaging or email function.

Source: Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120597536349250547.html

Ultimate Fights Expand to Include Kids

Ultimate fighting was once the sole domain of burly men who beat each other bloody in anything-goes brawls on pay-per-view TV. But the sport often derided as "human cockfighting" is branching out.

The bare-knuckle fights are now attracting competitors as young as 6 whose parents treat the sport as casually as wrestling, Little League or soccer.

The changes were evident on a recent evening in southwest Missouri, where a team of several young boys and one girl grappled on gym mats in a converted garage.

Two members of the group called the "Garage Boys Fight Crew" touched their thin martial-arts gloves in a flash of sportsmanship before beginning a relentless exchange of sucker punches, body blows and swift kicks.

No blood was shed. And both competitors wore protective gear. But the bout reflected the decidedly younger face of ultimate fighting. The trend alarms medical experts and sports officials who worry that young bodies can't withstand the pounding.

Missouri appears to be the only state in the nation that explicitly allows the youth fights. In many states, it is a misdemeanor for children to participate. A few states have no regulations.

Source: Breitbart
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VLPIPO2&show_article=1

With the rise of popularity in ultimate fighting, it was only a matter of time until someone would think it a good idea to start getting kids involved. I think we'll be seeing more of this beginning to emerge across the country, and along with it, I expect to see debate picking up over whether or not allowing kids to participate is appropriate. Stay tuned.

Teen Breast Augmentation Surgery Increasing

Last week, Stephanie Kuleba, 18, of South Florida died while undergoing breast augmentation surgery (apparently due to a reaction to general anesthesia.) At minimum, this gives rise to the reminder that even cosmetic surgery is still surgery and brings with it the accompanying risks. While parents should certainly pay attention to the status of their teen's self-image, in my opinion, they should help their kids focus more on building a healthy self-image based on character traits, spirituality, talents and skills, rather than looks. The following report from Newsday examines the increase in the number of teen girls undergoing breast augmentation...

Last week's death of Stephanie Kuleba, 18, of South Florida, during breast augmentation surgery has drawn attention to what some describe as a growing trend. Kuleba, whose parents say she sought the surgery to correct an inverted nipple and asymmetrical breasts, died Saturday of what may have been a rare genetic reaction to general anesthesia.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of women 18 and younger who have had breast enlargements has risen nearly 500 percent over the past decade -- a sharper climb than the 300 percent increase in breast augmentations among all age groups.

Dr. Stephen Greenberg, a plastic surgeon in Woodbury, estimated he has seen a 20 percent to 30 percent rise in cosmetic procedures among young people. Often, he said, a girl will come in with her parents, who are buying her a breast augmentation as a birthday or high school graduation gift.

"There are girls and women who are devastated by the fact that they don't have breasts and their friends do," Greenberg said. "They don't play gymnastics and they don't go on dates or they can't wear certain clothing, and I hear these things every day."

Source: Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-lisurg0327,0,2939806.story

New Research Shows 81% of Teens Are Happy

OTX, a leading global consumer research and consulting firm, released new results from its Teen Topix study. The study is done in conjunction with trend experts, the Intelligence Group and taps into the complex lives of the 13-17 year old set. 750 teens across the country were surveyed on the topic of self image.

One of the key findings of the study was that a vast majority of today's teens consider themselves to be happy. 81% of teens said they were at least somewhat happy and over a third (36%) say they are very happy.

Teens are happiest with their relationships with friends, their talents, their abilities, and their school performance. While a large number are also happy with their looks, it falls lower on the list; and teens are happier with how they look online (e.g. their MySpace profile).

How happy are you with the following areas of your life (1-5 scale, Top 2 Box)                                             
                                                                            Total
Your relationship with friends                                  85 %
Your talents or abilities                                           80 %
How you look online (e.g. on your MySpace profile)   78 %
Your performance in school / grades                         74 %
Your health                                                             73 %
Your relationship with family members                     73 %
Your looks                                                               68 %
Where you live (e.g. the town or city)                       67 %
Your relationship with boyfriend / girlfriend              66 %
Your body                                                                58 %

 

Source: PRNewswire
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-25-2008/0004780056&EDATE

It's not uncommon for those who are students of today's culture to get the impression that today's teens are angst ridden given all of the challenges they face as they navigate the journey to adulthood. So, it's nice to come across a study that indicates otherwise.

Many Teens Spend 40 Hours a Week on 'Screen Time' During High School

For about a third of high school age teenagers, "Screen Time" each week amounts to a full time job!

While most teenagers (60 percent) spend on average 20 hours per week in front of television and computer screens, a third spend closer to 40 hours per week, and about 7 percent are exposed to more than 50 hours of ‘screen-time’ per week, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s 48th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Researchers looked at patterns of screen-time through high school, including total time viewing television, video, computer and the Internet. Then they examined the influence of neighborhood social factors on distinct patterns of screen-time.

“Boys and those whose parents had lower educational attainment were much more likely to be in the ‘high-screen time’ group,” said Tracie A. Barnett, Ph.D., lead author of the study. “Teens with high levels of screen time may be at increased risk of obesity.”

Barnett and colleagues identified distinct levels of screen-time for each of television/video and computer/Internet use. Overall, their study showed that:

* 52 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls reported average total screen-time levels above 42 hours per week;
* 52 percent of boys and 39 percent of girls reported average levels of TV/video use above 23 hours per week;
* 24 percent of boys and 7 percent of girls reported average levels of computer/Internet use of almost 30 hours per week.

Source: Labspaces.net
http://www.labspaces.net/view_news_comments.php?newsID=3883

Boomers' Hope: That The 'Kids' Are All Right

This is another piece about twentysomethings living at home with their parents that I posted about last week. In this article from USA Today, author Sharon Jayson reports that at least between peers, parents are sharing concerns that their young adult children don't have a clue about what they want to do with their lives, and are expressing hopes that enabling them to remain at home hasn't stifled their kids' self-sufficiency.

Around the kids, they're nothing if not supportive. But a growing number of baby boomer parents are freaking out inside.

They don't want to let on to their adult children that they're getting worried, but these parents are sharing their concerns at work, at the gym, at the grocery store or anyplace they can commiserate: Their offspring — post-college degreed and in their mid- to late 20s — still haven't a clue about what to do with their lives.

These young adults aren't slackers; they often have jobs to pay the rent and are seemingly on their own. But one of parents' biggest worries is whether their close relationships with their children may have stifled their self-sufficiency.

"Watching this as a parent, you're concerned that they find their own path," says Richard Hesel, 62, a marketing consultant from Timonium, Md., and the father of two sons in their 20s. "We've gone out of our way to help these kids, but you do wonder: When does it end?"

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-24-boomers-kids_N.htm

Recent Teen STD Statistics Spark Renewed Debate on Sex Ed

A few weeks ago, the Center for Disease Control released a report that indicated 1 in 4 teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. Click here to view my post on this. This report has renewed debate about teen sex education. Some claim that abstinence education is to blame. Others have claimed that abstinence education has helped. Still others that comprehensive sex ed provides the best safety net for kids when it comes to avoiding STDs.

It seems to me that comprehensive sex education that includes abstinence as a topic might be the way to go. In any case, I still believe that ongoing, age appropriate sex education at home should be a high priority for parents.

Here are some links to articles that have appeared in recent days...

Abstinence Education Has Been Effective
Source: Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/19/speakout-abstinence-education-has-been-effective/

Is Sex Ed Working?
Source: ABC News
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4514004&page=1

Comprehensive Sex Education Students Less Likely To Have Teen Pregnancies, Study Says
Source: Medical News Today
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/101676.php

Homeschooled Teens Kicked Off Facebook.com

Home-schooled teens are being kicked off the social networking site Facebook.com. The site bans home-schooled kids from joining the site because without a valid school e-mail address, their identity can not be verified.

Lockhart teen, Jennifer Smith, says the policy is not fair.

"I was shocked and upset and I was really confused," she said.

Facebook says they do not plan to change this policy any time soon.  It is a tool they use to make sure sexual predators are not using their site.

Some home-schooled teens and their parents have stated a petition online hoping to push Facebook to change their policy.

Source: Fox 7 Austin, TX
http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=6014956&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

It's hard to fault Facebook for enforcing its clearly stated terms of use policy on users under the age of 18, which relies upon a valid school email address for verification of identity. While there are lots of differing opinions about social networking websites, I'm sure that most believe security measures to protect kids from predators are important. While Facebook's policy might upset home-schooled kids, and some of their parents, it is hard for me to imagine parents wanting security measures removed. It does seem to me that given Facebook's allowing adults (who don't have valid school email addresses) to join, there should be some solution that Facebook could develop. But, that means Facebook would have to invest time and resources on the solution. So, I can understand their reluctance to engineer for an exception.

Moms Are Online

Slowly but surely searching, online shopping and social networking are becoming part of mothers' daily routines. Being a parent makes going online almost a necessity. Today, more than 40% of all women who go online in the US—approximately 35 million of them—are mothers who have children under 18 at home.

”As busy and time-starved as today’s moms are, they still make time to go online,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Moms Online: Browsing, Researching, Buying. “More than eight out of 10 moms go online at least once a month, compared with 68% of all women.”

Based on its 2007 Simmons Consumer Research Survey, Experian estimated that 86% of women who had at least one child in their household go online.

Source: eMarketer
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006020&src=article1_newsltr