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Coping With Teens

Most of us were never taught to be parents. So we can't help but disappoint ourselves sometimes. How often have you heard yourself using very words you hated hearing from your own parents?

When our kids become teenagers, it gets even harder. They seem to reject everything we've taught them. As far as they're concerned, we know nothing. Our values and beliefs are constantly challenged. Every word we utter is seen as interference. Emotions run high.

But we're more important to our teens than ever. As they try out values of their peers, who are more influential than ever, we counter pull of drugs, alcohol and early sex. These entangle children every day and can ruin their lives.

Here are some links that might help: The turbulent teens Getting along with your teen Dealing with anger Ignoring problems won't make them go away What to do if your teen runs away If you need to talk

Missing Child

One tool that I have found to be very useful when trying to write an introduction is called "Inverted Triangle." This concept is used mainly in journalism, but it works great for speech introductions as well. When writing your introduction, visualize it as a triangle with its widest part at top and point at bottom.

This triangle represents how specific your information is at any given time in your introduction. The wide part at top represents fairly general information, and, as triangle becomes narrower, information becomes more specific. In essence, inverted triangle is just a way to remember that you should go from general to specific in your introduction.