Parenting Newsletter Aspen Education Group

Thank you for subscribing

We hope you find the articles and tips helpful. We are always open to your suggestions. If you have a topic you would like to learn more about, please let us know!

Unsubscribe Links

Call (866) 845-1391 to learn more about Aspen's programs for children, teens, and young adults.

Academy of the Sierras

The country's leading solution for teen weight loss is Academy of the Sierras, with boarding schools in California and North Carolina that specialize in teaching teens how to lose weight and keep it off.

Aspen Achievement Academy

Many parents feel guilty about sending their child into treatment during the holidays. However, many teens already skirting with disaster spiral out of control during the Winter break. Use this winter break to help your teen journey to a stronger, healthier place.

NorthStar Center offers a sober living environment for college age students. Located in Bend, Oregon, NorthStar helps young adults transform their lives on their journey to self-discovery and sobriety. At NorthStar, all students receive personal academic assistance, individual and group counseling, and ongoing support in becoming a responsible young adult.

If you are concerned about your teen's future call (866) 845-1391 today. We can help.

"She'll Grow Out of It" and Other Unfortunate Myths about Overweight Kids

By Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., ABPP

"You said your daughter is 10 years old, 4'11", and weighs 203 pounds, right?"

"Yes, but her pediatrician says she'll grow out of it."

This exchange actually happened twenty-five years ago, and while it might be an extreme example, something like it continues to happen every day in the USA. That ten year old girl was certainly among the most overweight ten year olds in the country at that time. Today, we have about three times as many overweight and obese young people compared to 25 years ago. Yet, parents still hear that kind of message from some health care providers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends and neighbors. Parents with overweight children and teens are told:

Overweight kids will grow out of it
Focusing too much on weight causes eating disorders
If you deprive your child of certain foods, he'll want it ten time more
You'll ruin her self-esteem if you focus on her weight

The result of these messages undoubtedly contributed to a rather startling finding obtained in a 2007 national poll conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan. These researchers found that more than 40% of parents of obese children described their children as "about the right weight" and less than 10% of these parents said that they were "very concerned" about their child's weight.

Continue reading this article that debunks some outdated myths about overweight kids and learn what steps you can take to help your child and your family >>

Festive Follies - Alcohol and Holiday Parties

Ahhh, holiday season. It's supposed to be a happy, jolly time of year, but for many young people it is a time of stress and depression. It's no wonder. Teens are cramming for finals and finishing up end-of-year projects (or feeling ashamed because they've done poorly this semester). There are fewer organized sports activities this time of year, and the weather in many parts of the country conspires to keep them indoors and isolated from friends.

Text Messaging

Parents are extra-busy with office holiday gatherings and shopping added to their normally hectic schedules while worrying about how to pay for it all makes for short tempers. Perhaps this is why alcohol figures so prominently at holiday parties. What better way to lift the spirits than a nice hot toddy? What says festive more than a cup of eggnog spiked with spirits?

For parents, it's important to realize what message is being sent when alcohol becomes the focus of the festivities. Too often, adults take a, "do as I say, not as I do," approach when it comes to alcohol. After all, it IS legal for grown-ups to drink.

That's true. But parents must remember that our children are watching, learning, and filing this information away for their future. Sadly, many don't just file the information - they choose to start emulating the grown-ups long before they are ready to deal with the consequences of indulging.

Read on for tips to consider when planning the annual holiday gathering >>

Have a Great Winter Break

So your college student is coming home for the holidays. The semester is over, finals are finished and there's enough dirty laundry to keep you busy for a week. You have planned family get-togethers, scheduled shopping excursions and are expecting to spend some quality time with your child.

Think again.

Your fledgling grown-up has flown the nest and won't come back quite the same as when they left. They have been on their own for some time now and expect to have some control over their schedule so their priority list may not exactly be in sync with yours.

Learn some ways to avoid conflict and enjoy the experience of having your chickadee back home >>

Find out more about Aspen Education Group • Contact Aspen • Privacy Policy