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

Most teens believe they are invincible, however when it comes to driving a vehicle, they need to understand their responsibility not only to themselves, but to other drivers and their passengers. The Safe Teen Driving Club and TeenDriving.com may be a place to start with your new driver. Located just outside of Jacksonville, The Safe Teen Driving Club , Inc., is based in Atlanta, Georgia has been chartered to help parents educate, mentor, manage and monitor their teen drivers. They provide parents of teen drivers with tools, services and technology solutions they need to monitor the driving habits of their young drivers. With the help of parents, teen drivers can enjoy enhanced safety, security and protection. The Safe Teen Driving Club and TeenDriving.com has some parenting tips for parents that are dealing with new drivers.  Now, during a holiday weekend, it is a great reminder that parents need to remind their teenagers to drive safely and one of the biggest ...

Parent stress, how to help your teen. As school is coming to an end for 2011, some parents are receiving notices that their teenagers are not passing, as a matter of fact, they are failing and are at risk of not graduating or being promoted to the next grade. Some parents are aware that their teen as been spiraling in a negative direction - however as many of us do, we hope and pray that some miracle will change and our teen will not only pass, but will wake-up from this typical teen time. Many parents try an adolescent therapist to help intervene.  Unfortunately many teens are able to manipulate the therapist and the next thing you know, we are back looking in the mirror - as our teen blames all the negative behavior on the parents.  Being a parent in denial is only prolonging an issue that may be far worse than you want to admit however not allowing the truth to be recognized is only hurting yourself. Especially in today's age with technology and drugs at their hi...

Casual underage teen drinking? Not legal. This is the time of year parents are calling - their teen is failing, hanging out with the wrong peer group, possibly using drugs or drinking, and even running away. Over the past few weeks the increase of calls relating to teen runaways is disturbing.  Many of these parents believe that finding a good two-week summer program will fit this issue.  What parents don't understand is it took longer than two weeks to get to this point, it will certainly take longer to determine where this is stemming from. Are you a parent that is considering a Wilderness Program for the summer? Think twice again.  This can be a very, very expensive camping trip and a band-aid that will soon fall off once school opens again. As a matter of fact, Wilderness programs will tell you about 4 weeks into it (usually at $400 a day or more) - that your teen will need a longer term program following this camping journey.  Seriously - parents, yo...

Order today on Amazon. Recently Sue Scheff was featured on Momtourage (iVillage) answering tough questions about raising today's teens. "A parent asked about invading their teen's privacy, such as reading their emails, text messages or journals," Scheff continues, "It is a matter of when safety trumps privacy. Problem Teens? Are you at your Wit's End? Author Sue Scheff celebrates a decade of helping families with troubled teens . In 2001 Sue Scheff created Parents' Universal Resource Experts, Inc. (P.U.R.E.) in an effort to help educate parents when they have reached their wit's end with their teenager. This year P.U.R.E. is celebrating over a decade of assisting over 50,000 families. During these ten years, Sue Scheff has been interviewed by many media outlets including ABC News, 20/20, Lifetime Balancing Act, The Rachael Ray Show, Fox News, CNN, Headline News, InSession, Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, Forbes, USA Today, Su...

Today is a special day for parents that are mother’s and even father’s that play both roles.  Here is a repeat reminder of how teens want to be part of our lives. According to a ‘Family Circle ’ survey last spring, beneath that angst-ridden facade is a teen who is much different than he or she appears. There is a part of them that hungers to be part of their parent’s life. As a matter of fact, teens have stated that they wish their parents spend more time with them and worked less.  With today’s economy, that can be difficult, but it is promising that teens deep down do want to be part of your family. What Parents Need to Know: While nearly a quarter of teen respondents said their parents don’t seem to have enough time to spend with them , the majority of the parents surveyed did not report having struggles with finding enough time to spend with their kids. This disconnect may be the result of parents underestimating the amount of time their kids want...

Do you know your teen's "friends?" Teen Gang and Gang Violence has taken on a new light in today’s age.    Gangs prey on the weak child that yearns to fit in with a false illusion they are accepted into the “ cool crowd ”. With most Gangs as with Teen Cults, they can convince your child that joining “their Gang or Cult” will make them a “well-liked and popular” teen as well as one that others may fear.  This gives the teen a false sense of superiority.  Remember, many of today’s teens that are acting out negatively are suffering with extremely low self confidence.  This feeling of power that they believe a gang or cult has can boost their esteem; however they are blinded to the fact that is dangerous.  This is how desperate some teens are to fit in. In reality, it is a downward spiral that can result in damage both emotionally and psychically. We have found Teen Gangs and Teen Cults are s...