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3 Tips for Teens Entering the Medical Field

September 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Hippocrates: a conventionalized image in a Rom...

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The medical field is composed of professions you need to start preparing for early on and there are no better years than your teen years for getting your feet wet in medicine. Of course, no profession is fool-proof. The following are some useful tips for getting into medicine the right way.

Pharmaceutical Sales

With employment for pharmacists at a fairly healthy level, you have tons of opportunities all over the pharmaceutical field. However, one area you can start in at an early age is sales. When you can sell something, you can do almost anything in this world. So you should at least consider beginning in a sales position.

Nursing

Being a nurse is an extremely noble aspiration, but it requires a college degree. However, you can become a certified nursing assistant with as little as a few months’ training. You can do this at just about any nursing home, and it looks great on your résumé. This isn’t glamorous work, and it can be difficult, but if you can tough it out through cleaning up soiled sheets, you’ve got the gumption to go very far in any profession.

Becoming a Doctor

Forget Dougie Houser. You won’t be a doctor for a while yet, but you can start out on the right track. Take plenty of math and science in high school, and pass some AP tests if you can. That way, when you decide to go pre-med, you’ll be taken seriously and have a solid shot at it. Start now and work hard.

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Explaining the PEER in Peer Pressure

May 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Peer pressure 

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At no point in your child’s life will pressure to experiment with drugs or alcohol be larger than during their teen years. Even if you have made a concerted effort to raise their awareness of forthcoming pressures, there’s no way to prepare them for the real world scenario. They’re with friends, hanging out, having fun, and suddenly someone will produce a substance from their pocket or backpack. Whether you describe this scene to your child in depth or not, it will be hard for them to stand out from the crowd and pass on partaking.

 

That’s the nature of peer pressure that is never easy to explain – that one of your kid’s friends will be the one to suggest doing something that your child might not agree with. Kids like and trust their friends, so they’re far more receptive to a suggestion from them than they would be if a stranger brought up the idea. That’s why it’s called peer pressure. It’s far more common for kids to be introduced to chemical agents by their friends than by strangers.

 

The most popular substance for kids to experiment with is alcohol. That’s because it’s legal to consume; the only barrier is age. Many kids see slightly older people drinking and feel they’re mature enough to join in. These same kids may well frown upon illegal drugs of any sort. Explain to your kid that while alcohol is a legal substance, it can lead to many of the same problems that drugs help to create. Armed with this foreknowledge, your kid might be better prepared to be the one who manages to avoid peer pressure.

 

 

 

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Learning Resilience

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Some children are naturally resilient. They live through adversity and still bounce back. School doesn’t overwhelm them. They can resist drugs and alcohol and grow into well-adjusted, happy adults. If your child wasn’t born resilient, are they destined to struggle through life?

Psychologists now believe resilience can be taught. Parents and teachers can help change a child’s worldview from being at the mercy of an unjust world to one of optimism and determination. Resilient people are problem solvers. You can show a youngster how to define a problem, come up with possible solutions and evaluate each solution. When the child has decided on a solution, develop a plan of action to make the solution work, step by step. Allow your children to help others. This can include helping younger siblings with homework, helping elderly neighbors, or volunteering for an animal rescue – anything that gives back to the community. Your child will learn new skills, feel competent and in control.

Spend time with your children and make sure each child understands how special he or she is. It is also good for kids to spend time with grandparents or other special adults. Children do hear and remember positive comments from adults – catch them doing good and say something!

Help your child learn from a mistake. It can be difficult, but don’t yell or demean. Help figure out what to do to make the mistake right. Do they pay for a broken window or write an apology for hurting a friend’s feelings? Teach your child empathy – respecting and considering the feelings of others is an important relationship skill.

Resilience makes adolescence easier for the child and the whole family. It also makes adults happier and more optimistic.

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Solutions to Help Monitor Your Child’s Safety Online

February 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As a parent, you should always be concerned about who your child is interacting with. The Internet can be a great tool, but children don’t always know right from wrong and how to distinguish from friendly or malicious behavior of the people they talk to online. Many people out there, from marketers to criminals, are looking to take advantage of unsuspecting kids and teenagers, and software products from companies like PC Tools can help you keep track of what your kids are saying and who they are saying it to online. Privacy issues abound when it comes to children using the Internet. The Web is always there. Even when you go to sleep, your children may still be surfing the web, chatting with someone, or otherwise communicating with a stranger whose intentions could be malicious. Betraying their trust does not supersede your concern for your child’s safety. Spying on their actions online can prevent serious things from happening, such as abductions and assaults that are publicized on the news every day. If you install software to monitor the Internet behavior of your children, it is a safety issue rather than a moral one. Products from PC Tools will help you do this easily, and it is even possible to limit access through various settings depending on the operating system. Software products can let you set times which your children can use the Internet, track what they say and the sites they go on, and report that information back to you. They can even block the sending of their name and address, a significant safety risk, and you can also set the program to block whatever you want it to. Kids always need guidance, and monitoring their Internet use also assures their safety as well.

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Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah: The Life of a Christian College Freshman

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A teen singing.

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Don’t feel embarrassed. As Christian parents, you have every right to be worried for your teen heading into college. It can be an intimidating place, no doubt. And whether you like it or not, you remember what it’s like: secular, indulgent, even religiously open. That’s the university life, no matter how you slice it. Teens heading into it break away and discover many things about themselves–some bad, maybe some good. But the important thing is they discover it. What is a teen to do, though, when they don’t want to experience those things, but the temptation is there? Parents, take note:

  • Join a Christian Fellowship group. Have your teen do the research. Countless groups exist that are devoted to God, and it can be a foundation for strong faith in your child.
  • Go to church. That is an obvious one, but remember–it’s just your child going (unless he or she lives nearby). Instill in him or her the desire to go independently.
  • Start a Bible Study. Friendship in college is one of the beneficial aspects. Bible study is no exception. Meeting like-minded students is important in enjoying your child’s education.
  • Do your devotionals. This actually might be harder than it looks, especially with a load of schoolwork and the stress. Keep encouraging your teen. It’s amazing how ten minutes can calm a soul.
  • Stand up for your beliefs. Courage is important not only for facing the real world in general, but living the life of a Christian. Make sure your teen is prepared for the onslaught.
  • Ask for help. Tying in with church, fellowship groups, and bible studies, asking for help is important, because backsliding can be a dangerous thing.

Reassure your teen, too, that a college campus isn’t a necessity. With the help of EarnMyDegree.com, your teen might actually find an online university. The bottom line, though, is as a parent, you’re not alone. So keep the faith. Your children will be just fine.

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Helping Your Teen Pick a Path After High School

February 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Many young people with what they want to do after high school. In many ways, the path that they chose will be their first real step towards independence.

If your child has always liked school and has excelled in class, then college is a good option for them. Even if they do not know exactly what they want to do in college, enroll them anyway. There are two years of pre-requisite classes that your child will have to take before they start studying for their major anyway so they have time. It is important to get a feel for what your child is interested in so that you can place them in the best school.

If your child is more interested in getting through school quickly learning a trade or earning a certificate might be a better option. Many programs like dental hygienist, veterinary technician, or mechanic are short programs that will get your teen in and out and making money in not time. These programs are great for teens who learn with hands on training and want to get moving with their life quickly. The programs also offer a placement program to help you teen find a job upon completing the program.

If you child is not interesting school at all but is interesting in getting training, the military is a great way to do. Hands learning is combined with actual in the field training. You teen will be able to pick from thousands of jobs and be out working in the field the day they join. The military will provide your child with knowledge and training that they will not get anywhere else.

If your child is the position where they have a job and they would like to stay where they are, that is fine to. In many cases, your child will be able to work their way up through the company and will become an asset for the company because they have proven themselves as good employee.

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Stirring Ambition in Your Child: The Talk About College

February 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As any parent knows, fostering the inner gifts are important in your children. Think of music and dance lessons, art classes, extracurricular activities, camps. It’s obvious. We can say all the time that the purpose for all of that is to provide diversion and focus in a kid’s life; because kids get easily bored. Forget the Xbox, Wii, or Playstation 3, because boxes and bikes do a real number on a child. Stimulation of enjoyment is definitely heightened in a little one’s mind.

It would then stand to reason that when it comes to college, you have to start early in planting a seed of desire. Talk to your high school student–as early as the age of 16–about college. Stirring the ambition, the passion, of some of their favorite things to do will inevitably prepare him or her for the future in college; and the earlier the better.

There are several reasons why it’s a good idea to get talking about it. One, your child may have better opportunities toward scholarships if they already have their mind set on where they want to go. Better craftsmanship on the gift or talent they have will definitely lead to turning more heads on the college front. Is your son or daughter good at basketball? Good–bring it up, get them involved in camps, have them try out for the team, keep them motivated, keep them excited. The more they play, the better they’ll get; the better they get, the better chance of landing a scholarship.

Moreover, your child doesn’t have to get intimidated about the enormous choices of schools given the resources of today such as eLearners.com providing a comprehensive list of online universities. Narrowing schools down over time (once again, the earlier the better) will help your child feel more confident about leaving high school.

It’s important to start early. Get your child involved as soon as possible. Why? Because his or her future depends on it.

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Things to Pack When a Teen Travels Solo

February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Traveling solo is a big event for a teen as well as the teen’s parents. Reduce anxiety by carefully packing the essentials in an orderly fashion. You want to consider documentation, health, and entertainment in your packing.

* Backpack – Whether your teen is going on a flight, a bus trip, or a car trip, a backpack is an ideal carrying tool. It fits under seats and in overhead compartments.

* Cards – It isn’t safe for a traveling teen to carry too much cash, so consider using a prepaid credit card. This card isn’t attached to a bank, and allows your teen to purchase items as if it were a normal credit card. If funds get depleted, the card won’t work, and there won’t be any penalty such as overdraft fees. You can add cash to the card from anywhere using PayPal or by using one of the over 150,000 retail locations.

* Relevant Documents – Make copies of all your teen’s identification. Place one set of copies in your teen’s luggage, separate from the originals. Keep another set at home. Email copies of the information. Remind your teen to keep their travel and personal information private.

* Contact Information – Create a plan for communication. If your child is going on a trip, make sure both the teen and you have the chaperone’s contact information in your phones. Also keep a hard copy. Other contacts you might want to add to the phones and lists are taxis and shuttle companies, hotel number, the host’s number, the teen’s doctor’s number, and the airline number if applicable.

* Medications – Don’t forget to pack medications ranging from prescriptions to minor pain relievers and band-aids. If you use prescription medication, copy the original prescription, and keep the medicine in clearly labeled bottles. Your teen should also pack an insurance card in case of injury or hospitalization.

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Educational Alternatives for Your Child

February 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
NEW YORK - MARCH 30: A student reads on a dot...

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Do you have a troubled child who is struggling academically? Whether these problems are behavioral or sociological, the fact that he or she is struggling in school presents some real problems. It may be possible that your child has been expelled and now you need to find an alternate solution. Or you may have just decided that finding an alternative to the present educational situation is the best thing you can do to help your child succeed academically.

Charter Schools
Charter schools are institutions that are actually part of the public school system and they meet all the academic requirements set down by the individual state’s board of education. Troubled students may excel in these schools because they usually provide a more individualized approach as well as smaller class sizes.

Alternative Disciplinary Schools
These schools are designed for students who have been expelled from their schools. Your school’s administrators may choose to send your child to one of these schools. These schools may have smaller learning environments to provide additional support for students or they can be large “boot camp” type facilities.

Online Learning Options
You may want to look at an online learning situation where your child can engage in his or her studies in an electronic environment. You may find that your child needed a different learning environment to find his or her academic success. These types of programs can also be used as one type of home schooling. You may find that through these types of programs, you will become more involved with the learning as you help guide your child through these programs. You will find that you may be more in control of your child’s educational pursuits, as you will be overseeing the program on a day-to-day basis.

Whatever you choose for your child, keep in mind that the first alternative may not work. Do not get discouraged — discuss your options with professional educators and keep trying.

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