Kids reach driving age at 16. At the same time, cars boost the annual accidental death rate of teenagers from one per 100,000 kids to ten.
At the end of high school, 25 percent are alcohol abusers. This group also has pregnancy and abortion rates higher than all other developed countries. Most teenagers say they have serious “school problems,” and nearly all parents of kids gone berserk with a gun didn’t think their child was disturbed.
Parent and step-parents can help counter these terrible problems by spending time in parent-teen conversation. It is the most effective use of family time, but most parents find it hard to find the time or the teenager. In fact, most parents and step-parents report less than 10 minutes per week of serious conversation with their teenagers.
Substance abuse and pregnancy are the two most common topics of interest and concern to both teens and parents. On the drug topic, keep the above listening rules in mind, but also watch for these signs:
1. Unusual, unexplained need for money, or money missing from the house.
2. Changes in friends, eating habits or sleeping that don’t make sense.
3. Lack of concentration, extreme agitation.
4. “Cold symptoms” that just don’t go away—red eyes, runny nose, increased infections.
5. Changes in appetite, cravings.
6. Changes in fatigue, hyperactivity, appearance, becoming sloppy.
7. Unusual clumsiness, shortness of breath, coughing, peculiar odor to breath or clothes.
Concerning the pregnancy topic, the Adolescent Health Study has followed 10,000 students ages 12 to 17 since 1994, adding new youngsters each year. The study found that sexual behavior is common for one in five seventh and eighth graders and for two out of three high school juniors and seniors. However, teens who do well in school are less likely to get into self-destructive activities such as drinking, drugs, crime, and sex. Even the number of attempted suicides is lower among good student.
The top predictor of sexual activity is the amount of unsupervised time a teen has. “Among all the factors that can be associated with teenage sex, the big one is opportunity,” says Dr. Robert Blum, the director of the study.
