Tag: safety

Time may have snuck up on you, but believe it or not, your teenager is now old enough to drive—and that may be terrifying. Think your teen is ready to get behind the wheel? As a parent, your job is to make them feel prepared and comfortable before venturing out on the open road.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, six teenagers, on average, die every day in car crashes. Of course, you don't want your child to become another statistic, so it's up to you to teach them a wealth of safe-driving habits. Here are a few tips to help get you started:

"The only thing about masturbation to be ashamed of is doing it badly." ~ Sigmund Freud

It’s been over 20 years since May was named National Masturbation Month by a group of hip sex stores in response to the firing of then Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders for suggesting that masturbation would be a healthy addition to educational curriculum.

It was a reasonable suggestion given the cloak of shame and secrecy that masturbation has long carried, being derided and not considered "real sex."  And yet, solo sex is, without question, the most common of all sexual acts on the planet and arguably one of the safest.

As we all age, worrying about our parents and their health is a constant. Taking a more authoritative role in the management of their home may be necessary, although it's not always easy and can be an ongoing process. Here are a few tips to consider to get you and your parents on the same page about when it comes to home maintenance and management.

Whether you are near or far, it's important that you have an understanding of your parents home activities, making it easier to respond if they request your assistance.

Social media has changed the world in many ways. For some, the change has been positive, for others the change has been detrimental. The future of social media and our young children’s participation in it is something both you and your spouse should look forward to, not dread. That being said, it’s easy to wonder exactly what we have to look forward to when there seems to be so much for parents to worry about.

Here are four reasons why you and your spouse should feel optimistic about your kids using social media:

Before taking off on that vacation, make sure you’re not needlessly putting your home and possessions at risk. Although people today are not leaving their doors physically open to thieves, many are unknowingly inviting burglars in by "over-sharing" on social media sites.

According to the MetLife Auto & Home Safety Pulse: Danger at the Door survey, 15 percent of the total population reports using social networking sites to post updates when leaving their homes, and more than double that amount—35 percent—of younger Americans (aged 18-34) "check in" to locations and tweet about their whereabouts when away. While it might be tempting to update family and friends on your adventures, this can give burglars clues about the best time to strike.

As a psychologist, I see people with all sorts of problems: anxiety, depression, work stress, relationship difficulties, PTSD, even people self-diagnosed as having ADHD. And while every person has their own nuanced story of why they don’t feel quite right and need therapy, after a few sessions a common theme emerges: many people don’t feel safe and secure in their lives.

Let me explain what I mean by the word "safe" in this context:

It’s that sense of waking up on a Saturday morning and having no plans and being able to find something to do with yourself that is not a kind of work. It’s that relaxed and cozy feeling that you can have when the weather is awful outside and you decide to take the time to make yourself breakfast or even, pick up a book and read it without feeling like you should be doing something else.

October is upon us and before we know it, little ghosts and goblins will be taking to the streets for the annual rite of trick-or-treating. Sure, part of Halloween is having scares and experiencing fright, but only when it’s in good fun. Unfortunately, the real bad guys see this as an opportunity to act on children and families. To help you and your family have a safe and spooktacular Halloween, below are some easy-to-follow safety tips.