Action Items: Phase Two
Step 1 > Step 2 > Step 3
Download Action Items PDF
Have you forgotten what it’s like to be a teen? Feel a little overwhelmed with today’s teen culture, including what’s happening on the Web? Want to know more about the influences
and pressures your teen faces? Dive into his or her world!
Here are a series of fun, easy Action Items you can do to get a little more in tune with teen culture. Think of them as “expeditions” into teen life. Do as many or as few as you’d
like, but try at least one. And when you are done, visit our Parent-to-Parent forum to share what you’ve learned.
- Attend a sporting, art, or other event at your child’s school. Notice how your child interacts with his friends and pay close attention to how other teens his or her age act: what they talk about, what they wear, and how they behave in general.
- Rent some of the most popular movies among teens (go to: movies.yahoo.com/browse/genre/teen
 to get a list) and watch them with or without your teen. Count the references to drugs or alcohol, violence and other risky behaviors. Take note of the kinds of peer pressure teens might be facing and talk about these observations with your teen.
- Go to del.icio.us and find out what a social “bookmarking” site is. Visit digg.com to see how teens are discovering and sharing content – from news to videos – on the web. See if these kinds of sites have been “tagged” on your computer. Check to see if you have a del.icio.us or Digg button on your computer usually found in the top right hand corner of your Web browser and check to see what other icons your teen may have on the computer that you’re not familiar with.
- Flip through a popular teen magazine, such as CosmoGirl or Seventeen or Skateboarding or Thrasher. What types of references do you notice about body image and sex. How do they deal with issues of drugs and alcohol use? Do you think your teen is pressured by these kinds of popular references?
- Check out what’s hot on the Internet by going to buzz.yahoo.com or www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html . Ask your teen what they know about some of the most popular searches.
- Ask your teen to show you the photos he/she has taken with his/her cell phone or view the music and videos he/she has downloaded onto their iPod (or similar device). Discuss the content. Is there anything you are surprised by and should talk about?
All done? Are you feeling more tuned in? We hope so!
TheAntiDrug.com now encourages you to do two more things. First, share what you have learned with other parents in the Parent-to-Parent forum.
Not only do you have an opportunity to share your own findings, but you can read postings from other parents about what insights they have gained by doing the Action Items.
Second, come back in September and try another set of Action Items. Learning about your teen’s world is a process, and the more time you give to understanding it, the better you’ll be
able to communicate with your child.
Second, try our next set of Action Items. Learning about your teen’s world is a process, and the more time you give to understanding it, the better you’ll be able to communicate with your child. |
