Even the best of parents can’t prepare their teens for all the challenges of college life or out in the real world. But you can give them the the advantage of being able to think their way through any problems or situations when they arise.
It all starts with these six essential life skills:
There was a discussion within a long string of comments on Facebook about teen drug rehab. I was just reading it out of curiosity because the friend usually has a good string of comments every day on a variety of subjects.
I have not had to personally deal with teenagers and drug issues, but I do know several people at work who are dealing with it now. My heart go out to anyone who has to find a teen rehab for their kid. Thankfully, there are places that can help.
Teen addiction statistics are more alarming every day. Based on anonymous surveys of high school students, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has been tracking prevalence and use of various substances by teens since 1975. Although the reported use of most drugs has declined slightly the past 4 – 5 years, the use of marijuana has been fairly consistent and there is an increase in the use of prescription drugs, in particular Oxycotin and Vicodin. The increased abuse of prescription drugs is the most alarming to me. These teens are obviously getting the drugs from relatives or buying them on the street.
The kids of today are our promise of a future for our society. We must help these kids live drug free, and if we need to build more rehab centers or fund more programs, then we must do what it takes to find a workable solution for drug addiction.
We’ve been watching a lot of documentaries the past couple of weeks. The new season of TV shows is still about a month away and I’m sick of the reruns. So we’ve flipped to the channel to other shows and we have learned a lot.
One of my favorite series was about sea life. We’ve learned about sharks, whales, dolphins and a variety of other sea creatures, including krill. I always knew that krill is a food source for whales and fish.
Now I have learned from the krilloil.com web site that krill is an important source of Omega 3 fatty acids for humans. They have made krill oil capsules that can used as a dietary supplement.
According to the krilloil.com web site, krill oil is comparable to fish oil. Although fish oil may be a cheaper, the krill oil is absorbed by the body faster and easier.
I al always interested in learning more about natural health products, and I’m going to ask my brother to check out the krilloil.com and let me know what he thinks about trying some krill oil as a supplement.
Last night I was talking with my brother about medicines from his pharmacy compared to natural remedies. He is actually very open minded about herbal treatments and natural health products, which I found surprising for a pharmacist.
I was reading about the health benefits of various natural oils and, in particular, Oregano Oil. It’s all about achieving a natural balance within the body, and some oils help restore your system or even repair damage from bacteria, yeast and other infections.
Bio D-Mulsion is another natural health product that deserves attention. Many people are avoiding the sun with concerns about skin cancer. But avoiding the sun also ends making the body deficient in the Vitamin D that it needs to work with calcium and give us stronger teeth and bones.
Obviously, I’m not giving anyone any kind of medical advice. I’m just advocating reading up on some the natural health products and working with a trusted physician if you think you would benefit from some of the products that you find.
Today I found a list of charitable organizations working to help the innocent victims of the recent floods in Pakistan. They are all asking for cash contributions to perform their work saving lives. Each organization has a web site and method for sending contributions directly to the Pakistan relief efforts.
American Red Cross
Provides emergency humanitarian aid.
Church World Service
Distributes food packages and shelter material for families affected by the floods in Pakistan’s provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
International Rescue Committee
Brings help to victims of monsoon floods.
Islamic Relief
Carries out an emergency campaign to aid the victims of the Pakistan floods.
Oxfam
Conducts emergency aid effort for victims of the flood.
Save the Children
Provides humanitarian relief as emergency health care and providing non-food items and shelter.
UNICEF
Provides assistance with clean water, sanitation, health, and nutrition.
World Food Programme
Mobilizes their resources to make sure relief measures in Pakistan are met quickly.
There has not been much local news coverage about the recent flooding in Pakistan, but I do see articles on the bigger national news web sites. Evidently, more than 15 million people have been affected by the floods, with over 1,600 fatalities reported so far. This is reportedly their worst flooding in 80 years.
The number of victims is greater than the combined total of the last three natural disasters:
They estimate over 290,000 homes have been destroyed or seriously damaged in Pakistan, which is almost the same as the number of homes destroyed in Haiti earlier this year.
My mother has a nice condo downtown. I like it because it is laid out all on one floor and is conveniently located near a small grocery store, a Walgreens and a variety of delis and restaurants.I was over there last night helping her with a small problem with her wall mount mailbox. I thought it might just need a little repair work and a squirt of WD-40, but I think she needs a new one, as the hinge is actually broken.
I like the way her condo unit uses wall mount mailboxes instead of a common mail box area where you have to get out of your car and spent several minutes retrieving your mail from a kiosk or wall of boxes. I think having the box right next to your front door is a little safer, even though she lives in a good part of town. I worry about those moments when people get distracted and become easy victims of muggers and other small time criminals. The routine time spent accessing your mailbox, taking your trash to the dumpster, and getting into your car in an underground parking lot or poorly lit surface lot are the time when most people let their guard down. I’ve talked with her about this several times and I hope she is more aware of her surroundings than the average person.
So I’ve started looking around at the house mailboxes of her neighbors. All of them are very tasteful and attractive. So I’m even more determined to replace her old rusted mailbox with a broken hinge. I’ll just order something nice from online and surprise her with a new mailbox in a week or two.
August is already half over and school has started, but there is still time for the beach this summer. I was thinking that my summer is over, but the truth is that there are still 4-6 weeks of warm weather left and the beach is just a half day’s drive from here. So I think I’ll check the http://www.horizonmyrtlebeach.com web site and see if there are any late summer golf packages still available.
For the past several years I have used the internet to find the right Myrtle Beach hotel and golf package. I can find the package prices and check availability, then book my stay without having to call a long distance number and press 1 for this and press 2 for that and then be put on hold for 10 minutes waiting for a real person to write down what I want.
I have my favorites, but if those aren’t available when I want to go to the beach, then I can find the Myrtle Beach best hotels online really fast and get it done. And, to be honest, if I can save $30 – $50 by staying at a different but comparable hotel, then why not give it a try?
One of the ladies in our office has been facing some health issues and today we found out what is going on. This lady has been with the company for over 4 years and we all love her dearly, so we have been very concerned. Unfortunately, the news is not very good.
She told our HR manaager today that she has been experiencing Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms, although she did not realize it until the doctor told her the diagnosis. The symptoms can easily confused with other things. There are many health conditions that cause, among other things:
So for a few months is was a huge medical guessing game. thankfully, her doctor was persistent and found out the cause. Of course, no one wants to hear the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, but at the very least it is a relief to have a name to put on it and then get the right treatment for it.
To be honest, this is my first encounter with the disease, so I need to get educated pretty quickly. I want to do what I can to support this woman and not sound like an idiot if she chooses to talk about it with me. So I’ll be online searching out Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms, Diet & Exercise tonight.
For years we would call a known liar a “pathological liar.” Which I believe loosely means that someone lies all the time, even about inconsequential things. Part of our society wants to believe that people can’t help themselves when they become habitual liars. But other parts of our society believe that people can indeed control that and when they choose to not tell the truth, then they must have some psychological defect.
Now I have come across the term “compulsive liar” as opposed to “pathological liar.” I wonder what is the thin line that separates the two by definition and why is it even necessary to have separate definitions of this anti-social trait. If you tell a lie and you know that it is wrong to tell a lie, then are you suffering from a psychological disorder or a character defect?