PARENT QUESTION: I suspect my teen is involved in inappropriate sexual activity. Should I pry and spy into my teen’s privacy to find out for sure?
MARK’S ANSWER: My answer is the same here as it is for any parent suspecting inappropriate behavior and poor decision-making in their teen – an unequivocal “Yes!” And here’s how to deal with it…
Remember, for teens, violation of your family policies means automatic invasion of their privacy, until you are sure you know the whole truth. While it is important to trust your teen, if you suspect something is happening and the warning signs are there, action is required. Adolescents are capable of making poor choices, being deceived, and easily influenced in ways that could unravel your family forever. Continue reading “Confronting Inappropriate Teen Relationships”
Online networking sites offer teens a place to post videos, music, images, comments, thoughts, and wallpaper in any form they want. They can express whatever they want to whomever they want. They can invite people into their “home,” and limit who enters their “home.” They present themselves as they want to be presented. They form groups, develop a base of friends, and find things in common with complete strangers. 
Do you remember the old Star Trek television shows and those futuristic gadgets they used to communicate with each other? It seemed so far-fetched at the time, but today it is mostly a reality and deeply ingrained in our culture, especially among teenagers. My concern is that while teens have more ways to communicate than ever before, they are increasingly failing to “connect” in their relationships. Relationships become more shallow than they could have been if more time were spent sharing thoughts and ideas, and having discussion face-to-face.