Exploring Teens / Issue 9 / May - July 2016 - public

A U S T R A L I A’ S M A G A Z I N E F O R PA R E N T S O F A D O L E S C E N T S

EXPLORINGTEENS MAY - JULY 2016 • ISSUE 9

CHOOSING A CAREER TEENS WITH CHALLENGES

LIFE BEYOND SCHOOL HPV VACCINE UPDATE THE

DEBT TRAP LIVING WITH

YOUNG ADULTS

FOCUS ON TURNING POINTS AND DECISIONS

EXPLORINGTEENS

EDITOR

A U S T R A L I A’ S M A G A Z I N E F O R PA R E N T S O F A D O L E S C E N T S

FROM THE

MAY JUL 2016 ISSUE NINE

Produced and published by Norwest Publishing Pty Ltd Founder/Publisher Mathea Viles ABN 64 167 026 913

When we talk about significant turning points for teenagers, the one that springs to mind is the transformation of the child into the adult. This is when your children start to prepare for independence by taking on more responsibility. They also start to recognise the consequences — good and bad — of the decisions they make for themselves.

This stage marks a turning point for parents too, as this is the time to start stepping back.

We are there to guide and advise when needed, but our control on the reins loosens as we allow our children to chart their own course.

For teens, this can be a gloriously exciting time, and a slightly alarming one, as they start to take control of their future. For parents, it is a bittersweet time as you recognise the adult your child is becoming, while you grieve for the child you are losing.

While you may no longer determine every aspect of your child’s life, you still have a significant role to play. Your teenagers will rely on your advice and wisdom to help them on their way. Now is the time to make sure they are well prepared in all aspects of their lives.

Once again, we’ve called on the experts for practical advice to help you do just that.

You will find tips on helping your child to choose a career, and on preparing children with challenges to cope with life after school. We update you on where we are with the HPV vaccine for boys and girls, and we provide tips on developing resilience in your teen.

We also offer financial advice and, as always, good reads, game reviews and more.

Forum Update

Our inaugural Exploring Teens forum asking the question 'Is this normal teenage behaviour' was a fabulous success! See the pics on page 19.

Happy reading!

Gillian

PO Box 8149 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 Editor Gillian Handley Graphic Design Melissa Kallas Print and distribution by Spotpress Pty Ltd Contributors Lynne Allister Nathalie Anbardjian Emily Booth Jason Bryce Ros Gillieatt Toula Gordillo Nathan Jacobs Nicole Mangura Kim Milton Phoebe Schramko Professor Rachel Skinner Thanks to our young adult contributors: Lee, Kelly, Erin and Will, and to our parent contributors: Ruth, Susan, Tracey and Bronwyn.

Subscriptions Subscribe online at the Exploring Teens website Website www.exploringteens.com.au Facebook www.facebook.com/exploringteens

Contact us

Editorial (including Letters to the Editor) editorial@exploringteens.com.au Advertising advertising@exploringteens.com.au

Mum, posting these nice, wholesome things about me on Facebook is really a form of cyber-bullying.

Exploring Teens apologises to Proactiv for the misprint in the Feb/Mar issue of the Exploring Teens magazine.

Proactiv was incorrectly promoted with a free instore gift when customers spent over $69. This offer had finished.

2 EXPLORINGTEENS MAY - JULY 2016 • ISSUE 9

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in Exploring Teens are not necessarily those of the publisher or editorial staff.

Exploring Teens provides general information that cannot be regarded as a substitute for any form of professional advice. The accuracy of website addresses cannot be guaranteed at the time of publishing. No part of Exploring Teens can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the publisher.

FROM THE

PUBLISHER

FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION*

For all subscribers as at 30 June 2016.

This also entitles you to join our closed Facebook group.

So if you are not a current subscriber – SUBSCRIBE NOW! *for one year, i.e. four issues

Turning points: a fork in the road, a point at which we must make a decision either through choice or circumstance.

There are very few times in our lives when we encounter these as often as we do in our teenage years. These years present a myriad of situations in which our teen’s path can and does change.

HERE’S AN OVERVIEW:

For those who have followed us on our journey, you will appreciate that my driving motivation from the outset has never been financial gain (a print publication was never going to be that vehicle); instead I simply wanted to provide a quality resource to help parents of teenagers just like myself.

I first began Exploring Teens because I was a parent struggling to find timely, relevant and responsible information on raising young people. My passion for supporting parents just grew. Exploring Teens is now entering its next growth phase, and to ensure that we continue to provide a high-quality resource, we must make some hard choices.

In order to grow stronger, thrive and continue to play a role in supporting the parents of teenagers, we have developed exciting plans to build sustainability for Exploring Teens.

I’d love to share these plans with you via the overview on this page.

One of the benefits of these changes is that schools and parenting organisations will have the opportunity to subscribe to Exploring Teens and on sell the magazine to the school community, using revenue raised as a fundraising source. This will have the bonus of providing parents with the information they need as well as making additional funds available to support teens.

investigate changing the size of our print magazine from tabloid to A4 as suggested by readers for ease of reading

SIMILARLY, EXPLORING TEENS IS AT A TURNING POINT AND, JUST LIKE OUR TEENS, WE’RE IN THE PROCESS OF BIG CHANGES DESIGNED TO HELP US GROW AND MATURE.

What’s NOT changing:

¡¡ our quality – having earned an enviable reputation as an editorial environment of the highest quality, this will indeed remain unaffected ¡¡ our Facebook page and closed Facebook group ¡¡ our commitment to our readers, our passion and our belief in Exploring Teens.

I am continually amazed and humbled to hear how Exploring Teens has been helping parents across Australia (and even New Zealand), but I need your assistance to expand our reach even further. Can you help us get into more schools and local organisations so that we can continue to support greater numbers of parents raising teens? If so, ask your school, sporting organisation or local community centre to contact us and ask about our fundraising option. With your support, Exploring Teens can reach even more parents.

I am excited for our future. Trust me, we’ve just scratched the surface of where we will take the magazine, and what we will learn and share with you. Our mission of sharing, caring and preparing, is on track and is our guiding force.

I sincerely hope to see you at the next issue as we continue … Exploring Teens.

TABLOID

6

per year

A4

4

per year

reduce the number of issues per year to four while we are developing our next growth stage

FREE

add a recommended retail price to the print magazine that will give you change from a $5 note

FREE

$2

add a price to digital subscriptions of $2 per issue (subscribe before 30 June for one year FREE digital subscription)

Mathea FOR A REGULAR FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY PERFECT FOR SCHOOLS, SPORTING ASSOCIATIONS AND ANY OTHER YOUTH ORGANISATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT INQUIRE@EXPLORINGTEENS.COM.AU

WWW.EXPLORINGTEENS.COM.AU 3

CONTENTS

This month we explore Turning Points and Decisions

FEATURES

REGULARS

Our ‘Exploring’ features provide depth and insight into issues affecting parents and teens.

5 Have You Heard?

Exploring Turning Points

6 Career Choice – Advising Your Teens Career planning is a journey of selfdiscovery for the teen as much as it is for their parents. So where do you start?

8 Helping Challenged Teens Cope Beyond School How do young people with disability prepare for life after school?

16 Adapt or Die The importance of building resilience in teens.

Exploring Decisions 9

The Debt Trap Are teens being groomed for a lifetime of debt?

10 HPV Vaccine Update Up to one in four Australians will have an HPV infection at some point in their lives. What you need to know about vaccination.

Forum Update

22 A post Forum overview of the evening's success

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12 Your Teen’s World Life with Teens

14 Living Alone vs. Living at Home Young adults share their views on the pros and cons of each.

15 Survival Tips for Living with Young Adults Advice from the front line – parents with young adults living at home.

Exploring Activities

17 What can they do?

Get your teen up and doing.

Exploring the Marketplace 18 Exploring the Marketplace 19 Services Directory and What Can They Use?

Exploring Gaming

20 What are they Playing?

Nathan Jacobs reviews some popular games using his exclusive parent-friendly rating system

Exploring Books

21 What are they Reading?

Reviews you can use for an exciting selection of books for teens

YOUR SAY This is what some of our readers had to say: Just received my first print edition of Exploring Teens... thank you on publishing such a brilliant resource, I love so many aspects of it. With a 10, 14, 17 and 19 year old in our house this will be a valued resource for many years!

Linda I am very grateful for this publication – and yes, call me old school, but I love a printed copy that I can read on the lounge or in bed! I really think this mag provides so much vital information for parents on how to best support our kids during these difficult years and the crazy world they are growing up in.

Amanda I just received my first issue and I love your magazine. The articles resonate.

The only thing I would love you to do is publish some resources for Melbourne people, 'cos that's where I live.

Jan This magazine offers such helpful and insightful articles that support not only teens but parents too while they navigate this tricky time. It's such a quality read which I look forward to getting on-line every month.

Carolyn

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Loneliness as harmful to teenagers' health as not exercising New research at the University of North Carolina has found that BEING

LONELY IS AS HARMFUL TO TEENAGERS' HEALTH AS NOT GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE. This is because relationships with other people help to buffer

many of the daily stressors that people experience each day. Professor Kathleen Mullan Harris, a professor of sociology at UNC, said those with fewer social connections were at higher risk of inflammation or abdominal obesity. ‘The reason that we chose these (health issues), is that all of them are highly related to important diseases that will come along later in life; including heart disease, stroke, cancer, immune function.’

The findings demonstrated that it is important for teenagers to develop social skills, while research shows that the link between social isolation and health continues throughout life.

Between the ages of about 18 and 50, the quality of relationships matters more than the quantity.

ABC AM news – 6 Jan 2016 http://ab.co/1nYzsyO

Mental health of teens after dad leaves Family breakdown and the insecure financial situation that may result is more likely to cause worry, anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescents who are separated from their father.

However, these symptoms can disappear in the nine-month period following the separation, according to a study conducted by Professor Jennifer O'Loughlin of the University of Montreal.

The authors of the study say that while depression symptoms are usually transient following separation, there should be greater vigilance among all those in direct contact with young adults whose parents have recently separated, such as families, teachers, trainers, friends, and family physicians. THESE TEENS MAY

NEED INFORMAL SUPPORT OR THERAPY TO PREVENT FURTHER PROGRESSION OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS.

©wavebreak_media / Stockfresh

ScienceDaily, 15 December 2015. http://bit.ly/1Oig75X

?

HAVE YOU

HEARD Transition to work A new employment service called

TRANSITION TO WORK HELPS ELIGIBLE YOUNG JOB SEEKERS BECOME JOB READY BY IMPROVING THEIR WORK READINESS,

providing a better understanding of what is expected in the workplace, and developing the skills and behaviours required by employers.

Teens may be eligible for help through Transition to Work if they meet residence requirements and: ¡¡ receive Youth Allowance as a job seeker or Special Benefit ¡¡ receive an income support payment without Mutual Obligation Requirements, or ¡¡ don’t receive an income support payment and ¡¡ are 15 to 21 years of age ¡¡ do not have a Year 12 (or equivalent) or Certificate III qualification ¡¡ are not involved in study or work.

For more information https://www. employment.gov.au/transition-work

New app makes seeking help a goal for teens Goalzie is a new app that promotes the idea that getting help from peers, developing a positive social network and setting and achieving goals is not only healthy, but fun. The app targets young people aged 12 to 17 years old, and reinvents the old-school ‘Truth or Dare’ game for the next generation, all to help maintain their wellbeing.

GOALZIE ENCOURAGES PEER-TO-PEER INTERACTIONS AND GOAL SETTING BY GIVING PLAYERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE FRIENDS AND BE CHALLENGED BY THEM.

Challenges might be physical, such as doing a dance work out; may target selfregulation, such as giving up chocolate for a week; or encourage creativity, such as making a Vine video. The game allows players to set fun consequences for unachieved goals – doing chores, washing the family car or weeding the garden.

The app was created by the Young and Well CRC and the University of South Australia in conjunction with the Western Sydney University, Zuni and the Queensland University of Technology, and was developed through a series of cocreation workshops with young people.

Goalzie also includes access to The Toolbox — a resource developed by ReachOut.com and the Young and Well CRC to further help young people seek help through identifying goals. The Toolbox provides a collection of over 50 health and wellbeing tools and apps endorsed by professionals and reviewed by people under 25 years old.

WWW.EXPLORINGTEENS.COM.AU 5

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