Teens and Driving

I'm a little curious as how blended families handle teens and driving situations. Heck, even those families that aren't blended - how do you handle it?

My husband and I will have FOUR teens of legal driving age all within a three year time frame.

I take the position that they CAN NOT get their license until they:

• prove beyond doubt that are responsible enough to handle it
• are getting good grades consistently
• have worked and saved enough money to pay for at least HALF the car

Obviously, NO new cars for the kids. Heck, if I can't afford one, they aren't getting one either.

I'm not going to work myself into a grave and cut corners THAT drastically just to make sure that four kids have their license, have a car, insurance and plate. Nothin' doin'!

So, how would YOU handle it?

MySpace - A parental nightmare

A US Federal Judge says that MySpace is legally protected from any liability as a result of external criminal acts that have been committed by people misrepresenting themselves to other MySpace users. Judge Sam Sparks of the U.S. District Court for the Western district of Texas ruled that the 1996 Communications Decency Act excludes web providers and ‘information intermediaries’ from the action of their members when it comes to criminal acts involving content. This is intended to protect service providers from being put out of business by never ending lawsuits resulting from the actions of people over whom they have no real control. Read More

Just recently a situation came up in a family I know. A teen had been corresponding with someone claiming to be 'out of state' and 'close in age' - so the teen, after what I would consider to be a brief correspondence history, gave this stranger a phone number and thus began a line of verbal communication.

I suppose the thing that torments me most about this issue is that if I am geek enough to be able to take a phone number and map myself right to a persons front door, then how many others out there are capable of doing the same?

Also, just because a phone number is given and it checks out to be an 'out of state' number, does that necessarily mean the person is out of state and not quite possibly a few doors away?

I just don't think teens take these situations seriously enough.

I'd be interested in hearing some of your experiences, how you handle them and how you get it through the thick skull of a teen that the internet, though a fun place to hang out, can be a very dangerous place just the same.

Ever Heard of Thomas Hilfiger?

Just when I thought my twins were getting old enough to not come off with saying those 'cute' little things anymore...

While driving home last evening, the sun was just setting enough that most homes were turning their lights on.

There's a new log home just up the road that's been completed recently and this was our first time of seeing it at dusk.

From the back seat my son lets out a sigh of admiration and says "look mom, it looks like a Thomas Hilfiger painting."

After a bit of laughter on my part, my other son chimed in from the back... "You are SO blogged! Isn't he mom?"

Ahhh my kids still got it! My precious parenting moments haven't come to a complete end.

Letters from Children of Divorce

Blended Kids - Letters from Children of Divorce. Though the title says "children of divorce" it can be letters from anyone who has had their life impacted by divorce. Whether it's your parents, yourself, whomever.

Over the last several years I've learned there is no way for all the courts to truly know what's really best for the children - because NO two families are alike. Try as they might, to make the best decisions, watching the evening news is a testament to the fact that they're not always right.

As a child of divorce myself, I feel as though I have somewhat a clearer understanding of what the needs of children of divorce are versus what someone who has never been divorced might believe.

Thus the idea for people from all over the world to share their own thoughts and letters on what's best for them. What hurts them most? What they wish their parents would do? What they should have done? How should parents handle divorce from a child's perspective.

At the same time, being a divorced woman myself, I would like to invite parents who are divorced to share their letters as well. God knows there are many secrets I've had to keep from my kids that I hope one day they'll forgive me for. This is also a place for people like me to share those secrets - so that perhaps other parents in similar situations will find support, encouragement and inspiration.

With statistics indicating that most families are now blended or divorced - I truly believe the best way to strengthen the latest trend in family dynamics is through the personal experiences and letters from those who have been there and are living it.

If you are divorced, know someone who is - or know a child of divorce, please share this site and option with them. When they get angry, hurt or depressed - I'd like for this to become one new avenue in which they can reach out to take therapeutic measures to get beyond that pain and at the very least connect with others like themselves.

Thanks so much for your help spreading this blog around - the kids are really very excited about this. I hope they can read the letters from other kids who are in similar situations and realize they're aren't quite as different as they'd thought.

This is entirely the kids project - I just do a bit of the web work stuff and will filter some of the letters for "content" purposes of course. They are in charge of all the posting and development.

Sometimes being a Stepmom is beyond tough

Have you ever been placed in the position where you've been told something by one a stepchild and was asked not to tell their parents?

A reader has been placed in that very position. Something has been going on with one of their stepchildren while they are at their biological mom's house. They've been asked not to tell and agreed at first, but later had to re-think that position. Following careful explanation to that child it was decided they would talk with the father about it.

Do you know what's going on in your child's life? Are you the kind of parent your child wants to confide in? If you aren't sure, it might be time to start thinking about it - because they might just end up talking to someone who will keep their secret.

If you've been there? Do you have some wisdom or advice you'd like to share with other blended families?