Teens are notoriously bad drivers, but maybe worried parents should take a look in the mirror. Many moms and dads are setting bad examples when they’re behind the wheel.
Sixty-percent of 500 parents of teens questioned in an online survey admitted to talking on the cell phone while driving, according to Reuters. Forty-two percent coped to speeding, while 17 percent said that they had sent emails or texts while driving.
No one is a bigger influence on a teen’s driving habits, according to Dave Melton, a driving safety expert with Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. ”And if they grow up watching their Mom or Dad speed, talk on their cell phone, text and email, or pay more attention to what’s on the radio than their driving, they are going to think it’s okay to do the same thing.”
Hey, Mom and Dad: Hang up and drive!
Parents, be suspicious if your teen is suddenly really, really nice to you after a fight over curfew. A 15-year-old Montana girl made Jell-O for her father after an argument with him. Inside the treat: lamp oil. For three days, the girl tried to get her father to eat it, but he didn’t bite.
On Monday, the girl pleaded guilty to simple assault for the attempted poisoning in June, the Associated Press reported. A judge put her on probation until she turns 18. When the girl was asked by the judge what she thought was going to happen if her dad ate the Jell-O, she answered: “That he’d have diarrhea and stuff.”
A spokeswoman for a poison control center in Montana says that ingested lamp oil wouldn’t cause that many problems. However, breathing it could cause inflammation in the lungs.
More than half of all children engage in some sexual behavior before age 13, according to one study. But what’s normal exploration, and what’s a problem?
A new report by two physicians published Monday in the journal Pediatrics tries to resolve this sticky question. The conclusion: Many childhood sexual behaviors are within the realm of normal. Kids often behave sexually out of curiosity or as a way of testing interpersonal boundaries.
However, any behavior that is “persistently intrusive, coercive … or abusive” is a red flag that something may be wrong, according to Dr. Nancy Kellogg of the University of Texas Health Science Center, who is one of the co-authors of the study. Sexual abuse, domestic violence or exposure to lewd content in the media can all be linked to problematic sexual behaviors.
There are many sexual behaviors in children that many parents may not be comfortable with, which aren’t actually a sign that anything is really wrong, a Chicago Tribune story on the study pointed out. For instance, when your three-year-old son sticks his hands down his pants in the grocery store, don’t freak out. Just redirect him to a more socially acceptable activity, like begging for sugary cereal.
It’s a phone call that most parents of teens wouldn’t even think to dread. Rosemary Lumpkin got an anonymous tip on Friday night that her 15-year-old daughter was performing at Playmates, strip club in Cocoa, Fla.
Lumpkin notified the police, who raided the club. The mother, who went with the officers on the bust, saw her topless daughter chatting with an adult man. A 17-year-old girl was also found working in the club on the raid. The teens told the cops that they thought dancing was a good way to make money.
“The only thing that makes me so mad is the club is still open,” Lumpkin told WFTV News. Apparently, authorities are working to have Playmates closed down.
How could Lumpkin not know her daughter was a stripper? “Easy, because I’m not a security guard. She could be sneaking out of the window. You’ve got to sleep sometime,” she told WFTV.
Photo by Amber Rhea
A 40-year-old Missouri woman allegedly settled an argument she had with a teen and her mother by resorting to Craigslist. Elizabeth A. Thrasher is accused of posting a photo of the girl, 17, her email address and cell phone number in the “Casual Encounters” section of the Web site. Craigslist sure is more effective than bathroom graffiti — the teen became inundated with text messages and porn photos on her phone.
Thrasher has been charged with cyberbullying, the Associated Press reported. It’s the first felony cyberbullying charge in Missouri since the state passed a law after the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier. She hanged herself in 2006 after she was the victim of a hoax on MySpace.
The teen is the daughter of Thrasher’s ex-husband’s girlfriend. Authorities said it wasn’t clear what started the argument.
A New York social studies teacher pleaded guilty on Tuesday to having sex with a male student seven times in an empty second floor classroom after school.
Melissa Weber, 28, who taught at a public school in Queens, NY, has given up her teaching license and will enter sex-offender treatment, the New York Daily News reported. For the second-degree rape plea, she was sentenced to 10 years probation and is barred from all social networking sites frequented by minors.
The boy’s mom found out about the sex incidents when she looked at her son’s cell phone and saw messages and calls from Weber. The teacher’s lawyer says that Weber is remorseful and that her behavior was the result of a dysfunctional childhood.
When Weber was initially charged, she denied the allegations. She told police that the teen had been the aggressor and grabbed her butt.
Photo from Facebook
Alexa Longueira, 15, was getting ready to send a text message when she dropped into an open manhole in Staten Island on Wednesday. Workers had opened the manhole to flush a high-pressure sewer line, authorities said. Alexa happened to be walking with a friend, but it seems that friend didn’t warn her about the danger.
Alexa’s mom told the NY Daily News that the teen suffered scrapes on her back, arms and shoulders. It’s unclear whether Alexa managed to ever send that all-important message.
Paging driver’s ed!
While learning to drive, a 17-year-old girl broke her mother’s legs when she stepped on the gas instead of the brake. The mom was sitting on a fence in a movie theater parking lot when the driving lesson went awry, according to the Associated Press.
The girl’s father was cited for allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle. For a father and daughter perspective on teaching your teen to drive, click here.
Photo by MissLPS
The mother of a 15-year-old girl repeatedly allowed her daughter to have sex with a 25-year-old parolee, authorities allege.
In San Bernardino County, cops caught 25-year-old parolee Anthony Vaux and the Victorville girl in the act on Sunday at the Travelodge hotel, according to the Associated Press. The fuzz had gotten a tip that the couple would be found there and that her mother knew all about it.
Vaux had his parolee revoked and was booked on charges of felony unlawful sex with a minor. A complaint about the mother has been sent to prosecutors, but so far no charges have been filed against her.
Hernandez
A Florida mom not only endorsed her son’s sexual relations with a teacher, but allowed them to go to Disney World for a weekend getaway. That’s according to accusations from Miami police.
Her 15-year-old son allegedly had an affair with a sixth grade teacher at his religious school, the Miami Herald reported. Shortly after the couple got back from Disney World on Saturday, Maria Guzman Hernandez, 32, was arrested. She was charged with sexual battery on a child over whom she had custodial authority. The boy has been suspended from Our Lady of Charity school.
The boy’s mother, 44, is disputing just exactly what she knew about the affair. On Wednesday, a judge ordered that mother and son undergo psychological testing and counseling. He also warned that the relationship between the boy and his teacher had to end and the mom mustn’t encourage it.