Red Flags for Falling in Love

"Falling in Love With Getting High" is similar to dating and falling in love with a boy or girl. giverespect.org is a website for parents and teens about "respect" and the "Red Flags" of concerns regarding going steady and being way to serious at a young age.

It's interesting to see the parallels with the change in behavior that comes with teens who love getting high and are in essence, "dating a drug" and keeping it a secret from you as the parent.

Red flags

Here are some of the signs that parents should look out for in their teenagers' relationships:

New Years Resolutions

Do you make New Year Resolutions? If so, what about? Losing weight. saving money.

I work at Starbucks and January is our slowest month of the year, probably because of a new years resolution to save money and lose weight.

Do you make resolutions about parenting? Being a better Listener? Being more consistent?

My blog about “loving to get high” generally focuses on your son or daughter. But a New Years Celebration is actually a good opportunity to evaluate your own history of “loving to get high”, if that even exists. Take an honest look at your own celebrations. College? Work parties? Family gatherings?

Wonder and Excitement

A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement.  It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.  ~Rachel Carson

The idea that we lose our capacity for wonder and excitement by the time our eyes dim in adulthood is a sad tragedy. It doesn’t need to be that way.

As a parent, we need to become curious about our teenagers life.

Attachments

Attachment: The mistaken belief system that I will not be happy without this particular thing or person. Antony De Mello

For a teen who loves to get high, this love equals happiness. The essence of this teen’s life, “Life sucks and getting high makes me happy”. Pretty simple, a no-brainer? Absolutely.

This Fall, “Education Nation” aired on N.B.C. and C.N.B.C.

National Leaders, Civic Groups, parents, politicians, teachers and teens addressed the crisis we are facing in education and the substantial loss in standing we have experienced World wide. It seems as though everything was considered, when it came to the problem and the solution. Except on thing.

Things Our Kids Want and Need

I’ve created a list of things that our sons and daughters want and need.

Acceptance, Adventure, Affection, Affluence, Appreciation, Belonging, Bliss, Boldness, Care, Cleverness, Confidence, Connection, Control, Coolness, Courage, Curiosity, Desire, Determination, Devotion, Dignity, Discovery, Ecstasy, Encouragement, Energy, Enjoyment, Entertainment, Enthusiasm, Experience, Fairness, Fame, Family, Fashion, Freedom, Fun, etc.

This is a partial “List of Values” important to our kids. It includes A-F, only 6 of the 26 letters in the alphabet. As short as this list is, it speaks volumes about their emotional wants and needs.