Top 5 Warning Signs Your Teen is Becoming ‘At Risk’

“Children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority and show disrespect for their elders.  They contradict their parents, and tyrannize their teachers.”  This was written by Socrates 2000 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Problems with teens aren’t new, but things have obviously changed.  Today’s youth, especially young women, face… Continue reading Top 5 Warning Signs Your Teen is Becoming ‘At Risk’

Peer Associations / Approval, Acceptance, Choice

As we all know, peers/friends are probably the most important thing in a teen’s life.  This can be a particular conundrum depending on who the friends are, of course.  We know that along with attitudes, values, and beliefs, negative peer associations are a very strong risk factor for anti-social behavior.  We also know peers have… Continue reading Peer Associations / Approval, Acceptance, Choice

More on Fear and Anger

When ever you’re angry, ask yourself, what am I afraid of? Emotions of fear and anger are primitive and based in the ancient limbic region, particularly the amygdala.  This is currently the focus of great interest for youth, in terms of brain development. Master Yoda said, “Fear is the path to the dark side.  Fear… Continue reading More on Fear and Anger

Victimization: A Violation of Spirit

“We have created a culture of bogus victimology that almost daily seems to drown our moral sense – by making excuses for vicious criminality, and obscuring the real suffering that such criminality so often leaves in its wake.” Charles Sykes Journalist What is the true significance of being sexually abused or “violated”? Literature on the… Continue reading Victimization: A Violation of Spirit

Values

“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.” Confuscious “Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit, we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” Aristotle Every day, every one of us meets life situations which call… Continue reading Values

How we can help: Children of Divorce

Children of divorce often pay the highest price when families find themselves in the unfortunate position of dissolution or even possible reconciliation of marriage. For over a decade, the Academy at Sisters has provided expert care and educational services to teen girls who find themselves in the throws of their parent’s problems. You can help… Continue reading How we can help: Children of Divorce

Life After Healing

Self-forgiveness “Forgiving your self means that you give up the right to blame yourself for what you could not control. You may have achieved some level of intellectual self-forgiveness through your rational analysis of the assault. However, emotional self-forgiveness can take much longer and it requires you to acknowledge and process your anger, grief, and… Continue reading Life After Healing

The Anti-Social Child

In an effort to provide some perspective on problematic behavior I want to provide for you some guidelines on anti-social behaviors and understanding what you’re seeing. You will see some familiar terms here because we strive to address any antisocial traits when we see them. A truly anti-social youngster approaches the world with a sense… Continue reading The Anti-Social Child