We Need Your Help!

Nearly half of all AIDS cases in the U.S. involve people 13 to 24 years of age, placing many of BlogCatalog members or their children in the highest risk age groups. More than 250,000 are estimated to be HIV positive and not know it. And more than 1 million are estimated to have AIDS.

Of course, AIDS is not limited to the U.S. There are an estimated 33 million people with AIDS worldwide. It affects every country, city, and town in the world. And, the most frightening thing about it is that is going largely unchecked. In fact, that is one of the reason that worldaidscampaign.org is continuing its "leadership" theme, which it developed after learning that many leaders who promised to support AIDS were not keeping their promises.

As always, what you choose to write about is up to you. However, you might consider checking the NIDA and AIDS.gov research and prevention resources on the Bloggers Unite resource page. Or, for a more global view, check out http://www.worldaidscampaign.org

Unlike most campaigns where we hope awareness led to action, this is one campaign where awareness is action! If even just 10 percent of our members get involved, we can reach an estimated 4 million blog readers. And if half of our members participate, we can reach 20 million. And if all bloggers participate, we can reach the entire world. But more importantly than all that. If your post just touches even one person and convinces them to get tested or helps someone learn about AIDS prevention, won't that will be worth it? Your words, voices, videos, and actions can all help people become more aware about AIDS and how to prevent it. And by doing that, you might not only save someone, but save someone close to you.

Please join us. We look forward to reading all of your posts this December 1st!

Do you want to make money?

Even as a teen you can make money, make it grow, and get what you want!

You’ve just turned thirteen-years-old, you are ready for independence, and you want to manage your own money. Or maybe you’re sixteen-years-old, and you already have a job, but you feel like you’re always broke and you want to know where all your money’s going.

You could be trying to save for college or maybe you’re even a parent and you want to find some good advice for your teenager and a good website to help them learn more about money management.

Or, you’re young and you just want to make some money. No matter what brought you here, you’ve come to the right place. We often hear on the news and read articles about how kids today don’t have the financial knowledge to make it in the world.

People are swimming in debt, and some are working 70 hours a week just to make ends meet. They think that making money is the only way to solve their finance problem when, in fact, it’s their money management skills that are hurting their finances.

As a teenager, you most likely don’t have any debt or even very much money experience at all. Now is the time to learn how to deal with money. The sooner you practice good financial techniques and really understand the value of money, the better off you’ll be in the future.

Even if all you want to do is make more money, here you will find out that by saving, budgeting, and investing, you can make money. Great money management skills will make you feel rich no matter how small your paycheck!

Flirting Tips

1. Smile:
It is contagious.
It will make you so much more approachable.
A smile lights up your face and draws people to you. You will be a people magnet.
2. Compliment:
Compliment your flirting partner. The best compliments have the element of surprise.
The "flirtee" will know that you really noticed them.
Remember, your compliments must be honest, sincere and genuine.
When you receive a compliment the best response is merely, Thank You!
3. Eye contact:
Make eye contact, but please look your partner in the eye gently (no more than 2-4 seconds) and then glance away.
Don't stare it's a turn off.
4. Listen:
You have two ears and one mouth because you should listen twice as much as you speak.
Listening is a true art. Your flirting partner will be drawn to you.
Everyone loves to be heard.
5. Make the first move: Move closer to the person you want to meet.
Say hello!
6. Be the host:
Change your behavior from the role of guest to host.
You are not the passive person in waiting, but rather the welcome committee.
7. Use props:
Never leave home without a prop.
Props are natural conversation starters. They encourage conversation and others will be compelled to start talking to you.
Great props include: dogs, kids, unusual jewelry, a irresistable scent, a sweatshirt with your favorite passion or personalized Hoodie with your Rhinestone Initial or T-Shirt with your Rhinestone Initial ties, Guy's Personalized Sweatshirt hats, or an interesting book or newspaper.
8. Have fun:
Be playful, light-hearted and spontaneous.
Show your vulnerability.
9. Start a conversation:
The best opening line is saying hello.
Talk about the surroundings, ask a question, ask for help, state an opinion.
10. Flirting is an attitude:
A good flirt is self-confident and not afraid to take risks.
Be enthusiastic and positive, it works!

Teens vs Parents

Welcome to the year 2008 - where violence rules television, sex is played out through music and teens are lost struggling through these images.

Teens are dealing with so many things in this stage in their life. They need help choosing the right path. It only makes sense for the older generation to encourage and help today's generation, seeing as they have already experienced what modern teens are going through (to some extent, anyway).

Parents of 2008 have their hands full with protecting their kids from the pressures of the media, not to mention helping them make the decisions they face every day, with respect to their plans during and after high school. Guidance is so important at this stage, but some parents don't realize just how important it really is.

Teens versus their parents is an ongoing challenge, where teenage rebellion often leads to parents giving up. At this stage, teens want their parent or parents to feel they can trust them. They want to be treated with respect as a young adult, rather than a child. They want respect as a human being, like everyone else. But what parents might not know is, no matter how much their children rebel, they will always need someone talking them through things they can't handle themselves.

The teenage years are such a critical time in everyone's life. Teens are trying to understand themselves in these years, so when their parents offer their opinions, it means a lot, even if this sentiment is hidden. After all, no one knows each other better than family.

A strong relationship is imperative between a parent and a child. An encouraging parent can make the teenage years so much easier. Every teen needs someone to be there for them; no matter how miserable they get, they will need someone there to try to understand.

Teens versus parents is an ongoing problem - one that is probably without a cure. But just doing the little things, like asking how their day was, can mean the world. Children need the love of their parents, and, regardless of how well-hidden it may be, teens still love their parents. Regardless of how much rage and frustration is taken out on them, teens still need a nurturing family.

Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder seen in children below seven years of age and teenagers?

According to ICD-10 this type of conduct disorder is characteristically seen in children below the age of 9 or 10 years. All children are oppositional from time to time. They may argue, talk back, disobey and defy parents, teachers and other adults. This is a natural part of growing up. Children tend to be particularly oppositional when they are hungry, tired, stressed or upset. There are also times in a child's development when oppositional behavior is more common: between the age of 2-3 years old and teenagers. These are developmental stages when it is important that children can try their own will and they need to learn how to handle new and conflicting emotions.

What we can do for our children, when they go through these developmental stages, is to be good role models. We need to show our kids that there are ways to control your impulses. Show your child you understand his/her problem. Try to engage him/her into problem-solving, where you can express what you want and then try to find solutions which you both can accept. In time your child will grow up to be compassionate person in charge of his/her own emotions.

Because oppositional behavior is very common in pre-school children and teenagers one should be very cautious about making the diagnosis of ODD during these periods.

However, a child's inoperativeness's and hostile behavior becomes a serious concern when it is so frequent and so consistent that it stands out when compared to other children of the same age and developmental level and when it affects the child's social, family, and academic life.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders (DSM-IV) Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ODD, is described as a pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least six months and is characterized by the frequent occurrence of at least four of the following:

• losing temper
• arguing with adults,
• actively defying or refusing to comply with the requests or rules of adults
• deliberately doing things that will annoy other people
• blaming others for his or her own mistakes or misbehaviour
• being touchy or easily annoyed by others
• being angry and resentful
• being spiteful or vindictive.

Parenting Your Teenager: Trust or Bust

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

"Mom, can I go to the mall with my friend Jenny?"
No, not after you came home late last night.
Well everybody else gets to.
I don't care what everybody else gets to do, you can't
You just don't trust me
You've got to earn it
I have
no you haven't
have too
have not
SLAM!!! etc.

If the above conversation sounds familiar, you're probably the parent of a teenager. I especially love the "everybody else gets to do it" line. My parents response to that was "if everybody else stood on their head in the middle of the street at 3am in their underwear, would you?"

Probably would have.

I never understood what all that meant; but I do know that raising teenagers can be an extremely challenging task. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the parents of the teenagers I work with in my practice.

Now don't get me wrong. Most teenagers are pretty OK people. The vast majority seem to stay out of the juvenile justice system and eventually become adults. It's just that most of the teenagers I've worked with are 16 going on 26 and 16 going on 6, all at the same time.

There is a proverb that goes something like "raise a child in the way they should go and when they are old they won't depart from it". What that implies is at some point they are going to go away from it. Some families seem to go through the passage of the teen years with little or no struggle. Many other families find it one of the most challenging and at times, maddening stages for their family. Parents of teenagers really try hard to navigate these difficult waters. One of the areas that seem to be the most difficult for parents is the issue of trust. Let's take a closer look at how trust operates in families with teenagers, how it sometimes gets damaged, and how it can be built back.

A few families seem to go along and never have any problems with or damage done to the trust level for their kids. Others can really struggle with this issue. One of the places families tend to get stuck is seeing trust as an either/or situation. The teen lies, breaks curfew, experiments with drugs, or something equally trust damaging. The parents feel like they have lost all trust in their teen. The problem, or the "sticking point", here is how do you build the trust back from nothing? How do we set it up so kids can earn back trust? Viewing trust as a matter of degree can help create a map back to a trusting relationship.

Here's an example of building a map back to trust as well as creating the structure to earn trust back. Let's say the teen has broken curfew by a few hours. The first step is looking at trust on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 is the least amount of trust, 10 is the most. Let's say that coming home late reduced the trust level from a 9 down to a 3. That's a gap of 6 trust levels. Creating a map back to a high trust level will be difficult if you try to go from a three to a nine all at once. It's just too big a leap.

The next step is to talk about and agree on what changes and/or behaviors need to occur to go from a three level to a four level; then from a four to a five; a five to a six; and so on. In this way several positive structures are set up. The parents have a way of monitoring their teens progress and the teen has something to work toward. In addition, there's a built in incentive for the teen. In many families, trust is kind of like playing video games at the mall. In the video arcade, the more tokens you have, the more you can play. In much the same way, in families, the more trust you have, the more you can do.

At this stage many parents will ask "How do I know things are really different, that I'm not getting fooled?" That's an excellent question and the best answer I can offer is simply to watch and see if the behavior matches the words. If it does, you're on the right track. If the behavior doesn't match the words, then you know someone trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Trust is a crucial element during the sometimes difficult time of the teen years. If damage to trust occurs, first, remember that this is a common, although serious, occurrence. Second, begin building the road back to a trusting relationship. If you find yourself still stuck along the road, it may be time to call in some outside help in order to get unstuck.

And one last thing - the teen years do come to an end, and if you are really lucky, you get to live long enough to watch your children have teenagers too!

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring

WHY MUST STOP SMOKING

Say NO To Smoking!!!

We are ready know that cigarette are very dangerous things. But why must we still smoking especially to teenagers. It is because, many of teenagers be of the opinion that their parents or the adult group still health, although their smoking.
In Malaysia, the price for a box of Dunhill 20's, Marlboro 20's & Peter Styvensen 20's is RM8.20. Price for Pall Mall 20's & Winston 20's is RM6.90. Is it cheap?? Now, we calculate the money that we need to buy it. Majority teens in Malaysia will smoke cigarette in 20's box for only 4 days. Let say, if me only smoke the Pall Mall or Wiston brands, i needs to spent RM51.75 month! [30 days /4 days] x RM6.90. It is the example calculation if me smokes the Pall Mall 0r Winston brands! How about others teens that smokes the Dunhill, Marlboro or Peter Styvensen brands and can smoke for a 20's box in less than 4 days! Why must we spent money for shorting our life. We can use the money to buy petrol, because its very expensive..