Terrific Trips for Teens

By Meryl D. Pearlstein

In Part Two of this traveling with teens series, Meryl Pearlstein provides suggestions for fun-filled (even for teenagers!) family vacations outside of the U.S.

Go Trans-Atlantic
It seems like a no-brainer to offer your kids a fabulous vacation in London or Paris and have them jump at the chance. But even this takes creativity to motivate a teen. Here are some ideas to make an amazing trip.

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Teen Friendly US Cities

By Meryl Pearlstein

Once your kids move past the compliant pre-teen ages, it becomes more challenging to find ways to engage them without hearing that they’d prefer to “chill” with their friends, play on their game systems, or spend endless hours on Myspace or Facebook.

These teen-tried trips will hopefully motivate you to convince your teens that there’s a world out there with lots of interesting things, and that it’s really worthwhile to give up some personal time to be with your parents (ugh!), doing something that your parents (again ugh!) have suggested.

My teenage sons, Elias and Evan, aged 13 and 17, have become world travelers with definite tastes and preferences.  Here is Part One listing some of our favorite travel destinations in the USA.  Part Two will take us to Europe and South America.

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Teens and MySpace

By Stacy DeBroff

The issue of privacy for teens going online is such an important one. I am a parenting expert right here in Boston, and this is something I've had to tackle in the professional world and here at home. Just this week at my daughter’s 8th grade class at Oak Hill Middle School in Newton, MA, and emergency meeting was called by the principal, Hank van Putten, to discuss this exact issue and the provocative photos and postings that many kids had posted about themselves.

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Eating Disorders

By Stacy DeBroff

Eating disorders have become a rising epidemic among young athletes. Athletes are at significantly greater risk when participating in sports where a lean body is critical, such as gymnasts, ballet dancers, figure skaters, long-distance runners, divers, and synchronized swimmers. The incidence of eating disorders in young female athletes has been estimated at 62%, compared to 3% in the general population of girls. It can also be found in boys, especially in weight-driven sports such as wrestling.

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Self-Esteem During Adolescence

By Stacy Debroff

As we all remember, adolescence is one of the most difficult periods of physical and psychological growth children ever go through. During these years, kids really begin to develop their self-images and identities as young adults. Accordingly, self-esteem becomes a huge issue for adolescents as they develop socially and struggle to find their true selves. It is important for parents to monitor their child's progress in this area to help them maintain a positive self image and high self-esteem, even as they stumble though the tumultuous adolescent years, while also giving them space and room to grow and develop on their own.

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