Metaphysical Beliefs » Parenting & Pregnancy

What causes teen substance abuse?

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:03:52 +0000

Most of us have our drug of choice whether it is wine, cigarettes or some other habit that makes us feel better. Recreational drugs are now more widespread than ever but substance abuse is nothing new. From the Oracle at Delphi to the metaphysical poets and beyond there are many documented occasions of the use of mind-altering substances to enhance awareness or alter consciousness.

Substance abuse is often used to describe an activity which can bring harm in some way either by putting a user at risk from being in trouble with the law or, more worryingly, presenting a threat to health and well-being.

Part of being a teen is about being curious, adventurous and non-conformist. Wanting to try new experiences for themselves has to be linked to teen substance abuse. When drug users are asked how they got hooked they will often say that they wanted to see what it was like. Teenagers may often be in denial, refusing to admit that drug addiction can ever become a problem for them. They believe that they will be able to control the drug rather than it gaining control over them. Sadly, many are proved to be wrong.

Substance abuse in teens can begin with smoking cigarettes, often underage and illicitly. Young people are always attracted to those slightly older than they are and want to show their affiliation to the group by fitting in and partaking in the same behaviours. Smoking cigarettes can lead to smoking cannabis and the use of other substances.

It is, however, alcohol that is regarded as the most worrying of teen substance abuses. In the home alcohol is often the preferred and most widespread drug of choice but is sometimes not even regarded as such. Young people may have been offered alcohol at home, seeing their parents socialising with wine, beer and spirits. Teens often emulate their parents by continuing this social behaviour with their own friends. Recent research suggests that binge drinking has become a problem amongst teenagers and related health issues such as liver damage as well as close links to teenage pregnancy are of particular concern.

Abuse of harder substances such as cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, ecstasy and crack is less prevalent amongst teens but where it does occur may present even greater risks. Using a cocktail of drugs, taking substances which have been made illegally with no regulation about content is dangerous. The world of drugs is also associated with crime as it belongs on the other side of the law. There is always the chance that sustance abuse will escalate to use of these harder drugs and lives can be ruined as problems associated with drugs grow.

Amongst teenagers there is a strong desire to fit in and belong to their peer group. Teens want to do what their friends do so perhaps one of the key causes of teen substance abuse is related to the company they keep along with with being curious about new experiences.

Teens have to make their own choices and decisions about their life. It is important that they receive the education and guidance which will allow them to make informed choices. As human beings we grow up as part of the era and culture into which we are born but when making considered decisions common sense will hopefully prevail and even though we may experiment with the temptations on offer most of us will survive to tell the tale.

Gifted children: Why many gifted children misbehave

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:17:38 +0000

I think the title to this article also functions as the answer to the question. Gifted children misbehave for the obvious reason that they are gifted. They have been told they’re special and smart and urbane and etc. for so long that the rules don’t apply. Hence, they turn into little brats who can do whatever they want; after all, they’re gifted. The real question is how do we defeat this menace, this misbehaving of genious children. It’s a question with severe implications, for soon these little bratty misbehaving kids will turn into powerful adults who will rule this nation and, ultimately, the world. If you think they are a nuisance now with their MTV and their texting, imagine how annoying they’ll be with access to the Red Phone. We’ll have little Putins and little Obamas texting threats to one another constantly. How annoying would that be? Oy. So a serious question needs a serious answer, which is: We need to break the wills of these little geniuses while there is still time. Luckily, if we destroy them while still not fully developed, we can put them in a vulnerable state, where they will never rise to power and misbehave! No texting on the red phones for us! Here are a few simple rules to guide us in making a gifted child a broken one.

1. Target Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage.

By the time, the gifted child is seven to eleven years old, it will be obvious if they are gifted or not. This is where they enter a stage where they are very concrete and logical in their thinking, but still cannot deal with abstractions. Sure they can tell you the capital of Africa (obviously a homogenous country, as opposed to a diverse continent), but they cannot deal with the metaphysical questions. The best way to target this vulnerability is to feed them “literal” tales of the bible. Talk about Jonas and the Whale, the passover where all the first borns died, about resurrections, about Adam and Eve and all that fun things. You need to start with these stories when they are still in their preoperational phase. This is the phase where magical thinking dominates, so these stories won’t seem outlandish at all. (You need to do this even if you’re child is not a genius yet, for you can’t really tell at this stage and you need to hedge your bets in case they have the tools to be an insidious cancer on the world, which is always a possibility at this stage). Now if the unthinkable happens and your child turns out to be a preteen sociopath with intellect, you can use the

Developing leadership skills in children outside of school

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:40:36 +0000

First children should have books that have models of leadership and teach about leadership in their reading.

Then they must have practical examples of leadership outside of school, local leaders, national leaders, international leaders.

In addition, children should know that there are many different types of leaders-political, spiritual, literary, business, culinary etc.

What makes a great leader? What makes an ethical leader? How do we determine leaders in various areas of knowledge and talent?

To be a leader, you must be the best of the best in area, and you must be recognized as that.

There are many leaders who are unrecognized as that and therefore cannot assume a leadership role. Leaders must have followers.

There are excellent leaders who can not be leaders sense because they are not recognized as such, they have no credibility as leaders, and they have no followers.

Leaders should not try to force themselves upon people as leaders or be coercive, although this is a historical fact of leadership. Sometimes leaders have many incentives, but this is another problem of leadership. Leaders in certain areas, as entertainment, must “sell” themselves to the public, they must be charismatic and likable often.

Some leaders have many followers, some leaders have few followers, and some leaders have no followers, yet they are leaders.

You must understand leadership and then strive to be the best of the best in your area of talent or ability.

Sometimes leaders are misinterpreted by their followers, and their followers go in directions unintended by leaders. This is a problem of leadership, and this is something that leaders must be concerned about, including spiritual leaders.

This is a problem that we often discuss as it involves religion, where people make use of religion for many actions and motives, many perhaps unintended by their spiritual founders and leaders.

This is true of political doctrines, where the “faithful” go in unethical directions or ethical directions, but not necessarily intended by the leadership.

Leaders must continually monitor themselves and their “followers.” It is very difficult to have a leadership role. It is also difficult to be a “follower.”

Study the great leaders, study the problems of leadership, study the virtues and the mistakes of leaders and followers.

Often great leaders are discredited, and often their leadership is co-opted. These are also problems of leadership.

Some appear to be natural “leaders” and leadership is often typed in different societies, that is, there is a “leading role type” in most civilizations, and sometimes this has nothing to do with talent and/or ability, where some are allowed to be leaders and others are not.

Sometimes people are excluded from leadership roles for various reasons-ethnic, religion, gender, etc.

Those “natural” leaders must be concerned about their leadership and their “followers.”

Sometimes leaders can discredit themselves, sometimes followers, misinterpreting leaders can discredit them.

Leaders must be ethical and must have credibility.

There are material leaders, intellectual leaders, and metaphysical leaders.

Children should learn the problems and possibilities of leadership. They must learn how to identify the leaders among them. Who are the followers? Or does every child want to be a leader?

How do they identify the leaders among them and the leaders in their civilization?

How to encourage good body image in your teen

admin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:06:37 +0000

Body image and self image although two separate subjects can be tied together. A body gives off invisible messages to other people. Whether these invisible messages be physical or metaphysical is irrelevant. Both are important parts of our makeup.

Lets look firstly at the physical messages our bodies send out. If a person feels good about themselves whether they be a teen or whether they be an adult, the self esteem shows itself clearly. They stand taller, thrust out the chest, head held high and proud of who they are. They speak with confidence and assurance, without being overbearing and attract peers without even trying. To achieve that wonderful sense of good esteem we have to of course put good body hygiene on top of the list here and that is where the parents influence comes in. Our teens have an even greater need for good body hygiene because of the changing things that are going in their bodies. The hormonal variations that are happening inside their bodies are causing external secretions tiny sometimes but nevertheless happening. Combined together are the pheromones, the perspiration, and whatever else and together they can produce an overwhelming odor as we all know when we have passed someone in the street that wasn’t taught the good methods of plain old washing. So body image really is related to cleanliness but not only that.

Secondly we look at the aura or metaphysical aspect of the teenager. The aura shows clearly how a person feels about themselves. How the body appears in the mirror to the individual will always have a direct influence on the ego but its important for a parent to point out to that awkward teen with a body that isn’t perfect, that there is no perfect body. No one is completely happy with their body package, even the most perfect looking model will have something he or she doesn’t like about themselves. It’s human nature to feel inadequate and that’s OK because we aren’t meant to have egos that think we are better than anyone else. Instead of letting a teenager get depressed because they are overweight, wear braces, are too short, too tall, have pimples or whatever other imperfection that they possess, its more important for you to help them to find their good points. Don’t look at them with the rose-colored glasses of a doting parent. Be honest and truthful with them. Look for the inner beauty that your mini you possesses, whether it be physical such as gorgeous eyes or radiant hair, beautiful shaped feet even, or whether it be just something about them. That smile that lights up the room, the face that makes the room stop breathing for a moment, or a genuine gift of talent perhaps. It might just be that they love to give, but that in itself is one of God’s gifts too so please let your child know that its one of their endearing qualities. Teach your child too to look deeper than the surface when they meet new people because beauty is more than a physical thing. Haven’t you ever felt that over-whelming charisma that draws people in when they meet that silly, funny wonderful person. Charisma is what makes a person attractive. The people that have the most are the people that are happy with who they are, not what they are. Their body image shows a confidence rather than a perfection and a peace with themselves. They don’t try to be someone else because who could be a better body to live in than the one they were born in.

Metaphysical Beliefs » Parenting & Pregnancy

What causes teen substance abuse?

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Gifted children: Why many gifted children misbehave

Developing leadership skills in children outside of school

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How to encourage good body image in your teen