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

The stress parenting combined with Internet confusion. As a parent advocate I am always receiving emails and phone calls on a variety of schools and programs from parents and students that have first hand experiences. My personal experiences are with Carolina Springs Academy that is now closed -- I have heard it is reopened as Seneca Ranch . WWASPS (Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools) is the umbrella  organization that runs these programs.They also have others in the United States - at last glance there was Red River Academy, LA, Cross Creek, UT, River View, UT, Midwest Academy, IA, and you never know when more will pop-up in different names. Diamond Ranch Academy , sadly, though I don't have first hand experiences, I am receiving more negative feedback about them.  I wrote about them in June 2012 - and since then it is not getting much better. After speaking with several parents, that are looking for placement for their struggling teenag...

Holiday blues isn't only about adults, teens can struggling with depression too. Teen suicide is a very real concern. Sometimes parents will believe that their behavior is typical teen "stuff", but in reality it their child is deeply hurting. I fully understand that many parents hesitate wanting to consider residential therapy over the holidays , however you have to think about your child's future.  Once Christmas, one New Year's Eve, one  Easter compared to the rest of their life is worth getting your teen's emotional health back. Some warning signs: Withdrawn, secretive Change of appetitie Change of friends, or no friends  Sadness Poor performance in school: grades are dropping Rage, defiance, disrespectfulness Frequent headaches, stomach aches Check their arms, legs, stomach for scarring (cutting) Check their social media sites for writing about death and other dark comments Learn more from http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ ...

Would you know if your teen or child was being groomed by an online predator? Did you know: More than 500,000 predators are online everyday Kids 12 to 15 are susceptible to being groomed and manipulated by offenders online FBI stats show that more than 50% of victims of online sexual exploitation are 12-15 years old 89 % of all sexual advances towards our children take place in internet chat rooms and through instant messaging In (27%) of exploitation incidents, predators asked kids for sexual photographs of themselves. 4% of kids get “aggressive” sexual solicitations that included attempts to contact the kids offline How can you help protect your kids from online threats?  Communication is key.  Talk to your kids about sexual predators and potential online dangers. Use family safety settings that are built into Windows 8 , Windows 7 , and Windows Vista . Follow age limits on social networking websites. Most social networking sites require that users b...