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

Is your teen skipping classes? Truancy is a term used to describe any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. Children in America today lose over five million days of their education each year through truancy. Often times they do this without the knowledge of their parents or school officials. In common usage the term typically refers to absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate “excused” absences, such as ones related to a medical condition. It may also refer to students who attend school but do not go to classes. Because of this confusion many schools have their own definitions, and as such the exact meaning of the term itself will differ from school to school and district to district. In order to avoid or diminish confusion, many schools explicitly define the term and their particular usage thereof in the school’s handbook of policies and procedures. In many instances truancy is the term referr...

October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month .  Take the time to get involved in your community and your schools.  Bullying kills.  Words kill.  People kill.  Children die.  They are too young, it is that simple. Warnings signs your teen may be contemplating suicide: Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose Talking about being a burden to others Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs Acting anxious, agitated or reckless Sleeping too little or too much Withdrawing or feeling isolated Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge Displaying extreme mood swings Looking for a way to kill oneself The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. Warning signs are associated with suicide but may not be what causes a suicide. Be an educated parent, you will have safer teens. If you have a troubled teen, reach out and get help.  There is help....

Times sure have changed when it comes to sports.  It used to be that kids would play sports in school or the occasional little league team.  Kids were allowed to be kids.  Today it seems like parents are enticed to join the rec league to teach the kids to play soccer or volleyball.  That’s great, but then along comes a different coach that tells the parents their kids have a lot of talent and they are wasting it in a rec league.  The parents have a decision to make. Check out 10 reasons parents find sports clubs for their kids. Better coaching: There’s nothing wrong with a mom or a dad coaching their kids’ sports team, but there comes a time when the kids have learned everything that mom or dad can teach them and they need a professional.  This is a coach’s only job.  He’s not constantly out of town on business and canceling practice.  The skills that the coach teaches the kids are the skills that will take them to the next level. ...

Parenting teens is a challenge today. Schools and parents today need to work together to help prevent teen drug use. Fast Facts : Preventing Teen OTC Cough Medicine Abuse - From Home to Homeroom A Wake Up Call for Parents Thirty-three percent of American high school teens know someone who has abused cough medicine, a wake up call for those parents who think that their teen is not affected or being exposed to the issue. Six percent of high school teens admit to abusing cough medicine containing dextromethorphan, or DXM, to get high in the past year. Cough Medicine Abuse Does Not Happen By Accident While safe and effective when taken as directed, teens looking to get high from cough medicine take excessive amounts, sometimes 25 to 50 times the recommended dosage. This translates to multiple bottles or packages of medicine at one time. Teens often abuse cough medicines with other prescription drugs, illicit drugs, or alcohol. Even the best kid in the world doesn't h...

It’s not just pot anymore! It’s not the pot some parents smoked in college! It’s not just pills that gave you a quick high or a downer! Today’s teen drug use is worse than generations prior.  Why?  The access, the technology, the peer pressure, society, many reasons that all lead to one result:  Parents need to take the time to not only educate their teens on they dangers of substance abuse, but also themselves. What is Oxycontin? OxyContin is a drug that is administered in pill form.  The actual drug name is oxycodone and OxyContin is a brand name for the pills that are produced by Purdue Pharma. OxyContin is considered a narcotic painkiller and is in a class of drugs called opiates because it contains chemicals called opioids which bind with particular opioid receptors in our brain. Other drugs that are opiates include: Heroin Codeine Vicodin (brand name for a drug with active ingredieant hydrocodone) Morphine Percodan (also contains ...

With the ever expanding world of technology and the sometime irresponsible world of our teenagers, it is important they learn how to create strong and secure passwords for their cell phones, iPads, computers, social networking etc. There may come a time when they lose their phone or other technology devices; help them secure their privacy and safety.  Or maybe someone picks up their phone or iPad and starts browsing it with unacceptable searches or worse gains access to their social networking page and posts pictures or content that are less than acceptable. School is opening , more teens than ever have cell phones or iPads that are easily transported with them to school.  Help them create strong and secure passwords and this includes their social networking sites. In this day in age it seems like you can’t trust anyone.  It’s sad when you think about it. Every time you log on to a site you have to have a password now.  We all have trouble remembering...

One of the most common concerns from parents of teens, behind drug use , is Internet addiction. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a college campus or schools that don’t have Internet. College students and teens use the Internet for research, communication, and other educational activities. Of course, students also use the Internet for social media, news, and even online gambling, activities that can be fun and even enriching, but when overused, become a real problem. Some college students suffer from Internet addiction, unable to step away from the computer or put down mobile devices even for a day. Eighty-four percent of college counselors agree that Internet Addiction Disorder is legitimate, but at the same time, 93% of them have not been fully trained to diagnose Internet addiction, and 94% have insufficient training for Internet addiction treatment. The result? Falling grades, physical problems, and even clinical addiction. Internet addiction is a ...