Want to get your teen to put down the device and connect? Seek the hidden meaning behind your teen’s complaints

Want to get your teen to put down the device and connect? Seek the hidden meaning behind your teen’s complaints

by | Sep 14, 2017 | Children & Teens Problems & Pitfalls, Cyber Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Relationship, Social Media, Suicide, Teenagers, Texting, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Youth Suicide

This evening over 300 parents assembled at the Rocklin Community Center to address the things they need to know and can do to help teens deal with the stresses of modern life that if unchecked can lead to depression and suicide. The presentation was delivered by...
Worried about how social media influences your child? Then understand what you can control

Worried about how social media influences your child? Then understand what you can control

by | Sep 5, 2017 | Abuse & Violence, Cyber Safety, Faith, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child communication, Parental control, Parenting, Social Media, Suicide, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Youth violence

Regretfully, I must open this update with the reality about the life and death decisions our children are making in the social network and in the flesh. As the Chair of the Coalition for Placer Youth I was invited to attend a vigil for a Rocklin senior high school...
Building youth resilience to violent extremism in the social network

Building youth resilience to violent extremism in the social network

by | Aug 24, 2017 | Bullying, Children's Health & Mental Health, Cyber Safety, Faith, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Social Media, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Youth violence

In the beginning of the year, a private contractor with the Department of Homeland Security reached out to me to collaborate on grassroots efforts to counter the radicalization of youth into violent ideologies by gangs, neo-Nazis, terrorists, and other groups...
Three reasons why smartphones are not to blame for the isolation and depression of tech-savvy youth

Three reasons why smartphones are not to blame for the isolation and depression of tech-savvy youth

by | Aug 18, 2017 | Anxiety, Children's Health & Mental Health, Cyber Safety, Depression, Discipline, Faith, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parenting, Social Media, Suicide, Teenagers, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Youth Suicide

Adolescent mental health is a growing concern. A Pediatrics study published in November 2016 indicates an increase in major depression episodes reported for youth ages 12-20 from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 11.3 percent in 2014. This study concludes that the prevalence of...
Helping youth respond to the ‘triple-dog-dares’ of social media

Helping youth respond to the ‘triple-dog-dares’ of social media

by | Jul 17, 2017 | Anxiety, Bullying, Children's Health & Mental Health, Cyber Safety, Family, Internet Safety, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Privacy, Relationship, Social Media, Suicide, Teenagers, Texting, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Youth Suicide

Peer pressure, dares and challenges are nothing new. Think about Ralphie’s younger eight-year-old brother in the movie, A Christmas Story, who found himself stuck to a frozen pole in the school yard after accepting and acting on a  “triple-dog-dare” to lick it. The...
A response to the heroin epidemic: Remove the ‘cone of silence’ at home

A response to the heroin epidemic: Remove the ‘cone of silence’ at home

by | Jun 30, 2017 | addiction, Anxiety, Children's Health & Mental Health, Cyber Safety, Cyberbullying, Drug Abuse and Youth, Faith, Family, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Recovery, Relationship, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Substance abuse prevention, Suicide, Teen drug addiction, Teenagers, Uncategorized, Wisdom

Over 12 years ago when I refocused my energy away from the corporate world to better understand what it means to grow up with cyber connectivity and the new demands on parents, one of the first things I observed was the parenting culture, the network culture and the...
How the sciences of addiction, faith and recovery inform prevention strategy

How the sciences of addiction, faith and recovery inform prevention strategy

by | Jun 28, 2017 | Anxiety, Bullying, Children's Health & Mental Health, Cyber Safety, Depression, Faith, Family, Internet Safety, Marijuna use by teens, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parenting, Recovery, Relationship, Social Media, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Substance abuse prevention, Suicide, Teen drug addiction, Teen Drug Use, Uncategorized, Wisdom

(Below is the message Joanna shared with parents, educators, law enforcement, faith leaders and community leaders at the Coalition for Placer Youth, State of the Youth Community annual luncheon at 180 Church in Rocklin, last May 25. Joanna serves as the Chairperson...
How the brains of tech-savvy youth are ‘hacked’ and what to do about it

How the brains of tech-savvy youth are ‘hacked’ and what to do about it

by | Jun 22, 2017 | Abuse & Violence, Anxiety, Bullying, Children & Teens Problems & Pitfalls, Children's Health & Mental Health, Cyber Safety, Cyberbullying, Education, Faith, Family, Internet addiction, Mobile Phone Use and Children, Parent-child relationship, Parenting, Sex and sexual exploitation, Social Media, Substance Abuse & Addiction, Suicide, Teen drug addiction, Teen Drug Use, Teenagers, Texting, Uncategorized, Youth Suicide

On Sunday June 11, 60 Minutes aired a very revealing and insightful expose on how cyber tools and applications are designed to efficiently and proficiently engage the intellect and will of people so that they easily become addicted to the device – which then...