ONLINE PARENTING COACH

Can an adolescent girl who sends nude pictures of herself to her boyfriend face prosecution for child pornography? Incredibly, the answer is yes! “ Sexting ” is a new phenomenon that describes the process by which teens send nude, semi-nude, or otherwise risqué pictures or videos of themselves or others via cell phone. The child or teen receiving the picture or video can easily download it onto the Internet, where millions of surfers can view it. If the individual in the picture is under 18 years old, then taking, sending, or possessing the photo is in violation of child pornography laws. As it stands today, if an individual under the age of 18 takes a nude photo of herself and distributes it to others, she is in violation of these laws. The penalties for these crimes are stiff. You can go to prison, and when you are paroled, you have to register as a sex offender. Such registration means your name and picture will be on the Internet and other media, making it hard for yo...

"My seventeen year old daughter is so very angry. She is involved with drugs and has gotten in some legal trouble as well. She is verbally abusive to me and to my husband who is her stepfather. The problem is that other times she is a joy to be around. She is funny, and very bright and creative. I wonder if she may have a psychological problem or may be an opposition defiant child. Not sure what to think right now." Click here for the answer... ==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

If your teenagers are like most adolescents, they spend a lot of time locked in their rooms on the computer. What are they doing in there? Although you'd like to think they're busily finishing their homework or doing research for an assignment, they're most likely updating their Facebook page or instant messaging their friends. While these activities may sound innocent enough, it's important for parents to watch carefully to ensure that their adolescents are safe online. Social networking websites are places adolescents go to share their lives with friends. The popularity of these sites has made it so most adolescents - and even most parents - now have a Facebook account. But before you feel too confident just because you know your teen has an account, consider whether you really know what your youngster is doing on these sites. According to a poll of 1,013 adolescents by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that tracks kid's media usage, parents...