The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

With the recent trial taking place in St. John's County , Florida of the mother that served alcohol and drugs at her home with teens, that resulted in two teens losing their lives in an auto accident, should have all parents thinking twice.  Teens and drinking is a serious concern - it is a fact, it is illegal for teens to drink in the United States under the age of 21. Source: Connect with Kids Teens and Drinking What Parents Don't Know “ Faithfully I stayed up every Friday and Saturday night, to check to see if [my son] was sober, to make sure that he got home. And he always appeared fine to me... I was clueless.” – Hedwig O'Brien, mother The statistics are sobering. In a recent national survey of more than 2,500 eleventh and twelfth graders, 90 percent of teens believe their counterparts are more likely to drink and drive on prom night and 79 percent believe the same is true for graduation night. Would most parents know if their children were drinking or usi...

When your teenager reaches the age of their new freedom, called driving, it can cause many parents to reach stress levels that they never knew existed. Or quietly honestly, just hoped this day would never come, since it was only yesterday we taught them to ride a bike. As a Parent Advocate I believe an educated parent is a prepared parent that equals a safer teen! I know personally the stress I went through when both my teens (now adults) started driving. What I found to be interesting was that my daughter was very anxious to get behind the wheel and had her permit within a week of her birthday. My son wasn’t in any hurry and actually was 18 before he got his license. We all have different teens with unique personalities; however the nature of parenting usually doesn’t change: we worry. I am listing a few great resources targeted at helping you with this next stage of parenting teens - teen drivers. Teen Driving – A must read and print out, Teen Driving Contract . This website offers...

With news of accidents happening during texting, cell phone use and other distractions, ZoomSafer is a new product to help you drive safer. Although I have never used it, I cannot endorse it, I am sharing this new information with you. I hope to hear great feedback, and appreciate anything new to help keep us safe while driving. About ZoomSafer: ZoomSafer is mobile software and services that helps you drive safely, have fun, and stay connected. Our software will be FREE to download because our goal is to prevent distracted driving for everyone, regardless of phone type or carrier network. For starters, Zoom will be available on the following smartphones: RIM Blackberry Windows Mobile iPhone Android Symbian Visit http://www.zoomsafer.com/Default.aspx for more information.

Source: Safe Teen Driving Club The CAUTION-NEWLY LICENSED ® Car Magnet was developed to reduce teen car crashes and fatalities.The magnet identifies teens with Learners Permits and First Year Licenses. Placed on the rear of the vehicle, the magnet alerts other drivers to use extreme caution, courtesy, and patience. A proven method to reduce teen car crashes is more experience behind the wheel. The CAUTION-NEWLY LICENSED ® car magnet provides a "shield of protection" from other drivers and allows the teen to concentrate on the road. The magnet protects not only the inexperienced drivers, but also surrounding drivers. Buses, semi-trucks and drivers education vehicles clearly mark new drivers. The same concept works for teen drivers. Identifying teen drivers is already the law in many other countries including those in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The CAUTION-NEWLY LICENSED® Car Magnet Program launched a pilot program in Cobb County, Georgia in April 2007 with a distrib...

The January Safe Teen Driving Newsletter January 2009 is here! Here's Where You'll Find Answers: How to Keep Your Teen DriverSafe, Secure & Protected There's an epidemic in the US that's taking the lives of our youngsters. Driving fatalities are the number one cause of death among youngsters age 15 to 20. Driving crashes surpass suicide, homicide and all other causes. Over 300,000 teens are admitted to hospital ER's each year -- many with life-changing injuries. Among licensed drivers, young people have the highest fatal crash rate of any age group. What's more distressing, teens at age 16 are twice as likely to die in fatal car crashes as 18 to 19 year old teens. This is largely due to their youth and lack of experience behind the wheel. We know your life is busy. We're here to give you the support, help, information and services you need to keep your youngster safe...in a quick, easy-to-use format. Parents tell us they're concerned about issues lik...

O-kay, I am in Florida and have a soft spot for oranges and tangerines, but when I discovered a new Parenting Website that promotes today’s teen issues and parents concerns, I had to share it with you. Tangerine Times , created by Myrna Lantzsch , offers a variety of Parenting Tips, Articles, Blogs and more. Her motto: The Sweet and Sour Life with Teens. Recently Myrna wrote about Teens and Texting while Driving - and this is huge concern for many of us. We are hearing more and more how car accidents due to cell phone use are increasing, and we need to educate our teens of the dangers of using their phones while driving. Here is her follow up article: In an effort to provide additional information and updates on the subject of “Texting While Driving” post - I discovered this story on Salon.com. In the article, they discuss other technologies to aide with the “disabling” of a cell phone for texting purposes. Both of the companies discussed, (WQN, Inc. and Aegis Mobility) both utilize th...

I think it is so important for parents to become informed as their young teen (in some states, as young as 15 years old) take the wheel. It is a such a major responsibility and as a parent, we need to take the responsibility very seriously. Any vehicle, driven by an adult or a teen, can be dangerous if not handled intelligently and with caution. Safe Teen Driving Club is a website every parent should take the time to read. It has tremendous tips and information that can help you help your teen become a safe driver from the moment they receive their permit.