Tag: Student Parent Relation

How Important Is Family Involvement for Teenagers’ Growth and Development?

The 2009 Hollywood Movie Blind Side Revolves Around a Struggling Teenager Who Was Desperately Waiting for a Miracle in His Life.

Last week, I watched the movie Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron. This movie is the real-life story of NFL player Michael Oher and his rise out of the depths of poverty, neglect, and homelessness to become one of the NFL’s greatest athletes. The movie is all about inclusion, the benefits of hard work, and the importance of family. Sometimes, the viewer feels it shines over many of the challenges that Oher and his rescuer Leigh Anne Tuohy (played by Sandra Bullock) must have faced. I asked myself how significant family involvement is for teens to grow, develop, and strive hard to make their dreams come true?

The Story Line

Before becoming an All-American college football star, Michael Oher was a brawny-but-tender teen attending a Christian school in Memphis with no roof over his head or family to support him. In the movie, he’s soon befriended by S.J. and Collins Tuohy, children of wealthy fast-food franchise owner Sean Tuohy and his decorator wife, Leigh Anne. Continue reading “How Important Is Family Involvement for Teenagers’ Growth and Development?”

Why Do Kids Need to Be Encouraged to Become Original Thinkers?

Researchers Believe That Originality Turns Out to Be Essential for The Kids in All Fields of Life, especially in a Time of Distress

Last week, a student waited for me after the class just to ask one thing ‘Do I have a unique mind?’ The question was spontaneous, which made me pause for a moment before replying to her question. I gently asked, ‘Dear, what made you ask this question?’ She replied, ‘Sir, I think I am a good student,” she explains thoughtfully, rolling her eyes, ‘but do I have the kind of mind where I can come up with a new and unique thought? Maybe I’m intended to be one of those people who spend their lives listening to what other creative people say.’ I smiled and replied, ‘Not need to worry, dear. Everybody feels that way. Even I sometimes feel that my thoughts are the copied ones, and that is okay. It doesn’t mean that I have a lesser value than any other human being on this earth.’ She smiled back convincingly, and after a bit of talk, we left our Zoom meeting. But this conversation left me with a question, does originality really matter when valuing ourselves or others? Continue reading “Why Do Kids Need to Be Encouraged to Become Original Thinkers?”

How Watching Porn Affects Adolescent’s Brain?

Do Porn Websites Changes the Way Teenagers Think About Sex?

Recently, one of my previous year students’ parent texted me to discuss her child’s daily schedule and wanted some suggestions. While discussing, she asked, “Sir, is it ok if I forbid my kid to browse over the internet? or if I sit with him while he is using a laptop, would it hinder his privacy?” She seems concerned and confused as she starts asking such questions. When I enquired what exactly puzzling her? she replied, “I think my child watches porn because his internet browser history is full of such websites. I think it’s not normal as he is only 14”. Every year, I came across at least 2 or 3 such parental anxieties regarding their kid’s disturbing cyber behaviour. Parents have become more concerned about their kids’ virtual routine, especially in this Covid era, where the internet is becoming more of a necessity for kids. How browsing pornography can affect teens’ overall idea of sex? What impacts does porn have on adolescents’ cognitive behaviour and personality? Continue reading “How Watching Porn Affects Adolescent’s Brain?”

Why Parents Need to Aware of What Content Their Child Is Browsing?

What Role Parents Should Play in Keeping Their Child Digitally Safe and Secure

Yesterday, one of my student’s parent calls me and ask me whether she let her 15-year-old kid to have a cell phone or not because what she believes that kids usually invest all of their spare time on a cell phone. Similarly, she also fears that what if her kid got access to some inappropriate content like pornography or start participating in hateful content or messages. What that parent shared is a fear of every parent, especially in today’s virtual era where kids have easy access to thousands of internet websites. Kids are now using tablets, and smart gadgets more commonly as schools are going virtual due to pandemic. However, what parents should do to keep their kids safe and secure? Do they start surveilling every website they visit and breach their sense of privacy and trust? Continue reading “Why Parents Need to Aware of What Content Their Child Is Browsing?”

Why Do Teenagers Cyberbully Themselves?

Bullying has existed even before the internet, its impact has increased with the emergence of online communities

Over the past few years, where the internet makes distance learning and connectivity possible during catastrophic times like the present pandemic. However, the other side of the coin has a potentially harmful effect especially on teenagers, from the proliferation of fake news to online harassment. We have seen a massive increase in cyber abuse cases in India and Pakistan since the COVID-19 closure. Alone Pakistan has a tremendous 189% increase in cyber-harassment cases since April 2020. But these numbers are related to the victims who are virtually harassed by someone else, who might be known or unknown to them. What if the victim and the abuser would be the same?

Studies show that 13 percent to 18 percent of distressed teens physically injure themselves via cutting, burning or other forms of self-harm to cope with their pain. However, recent researches suggest that teenagers are now engaging in a newer form of self-aggression – Self-Cyberbullying. Digital Self-Harm is not a recent phenomenon, over the years the tendency of sending rude comments to themselves by teenagers over social media sites have increased rapidly. Continue reading “Why Do Teenagers Cyberbully Themselves?”