Parents who are having a hard time communicating with their teenagers can get some help.
The Shippensburg Area School District will be hosting eight monthly meetings called "How to Survive the Teen Years," starting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Shippensburg Area Middle School. The series will start with Angie Tobias, Women In Need Services Manager, talking to parents about effective ways to communicate with teens.
Intervention Counselor Angie McKee said she came up with the idea for the program as a way to reach parents at a time when many teenagers start to become difficult to talk to and sometimes veer down the wrong path.
"We signed up to be parents for a lifetime, not just the first 12 or 13 years. They need us now more than they ever have," McKee said.
The Nov. 17 meeting will deal with helping parents to plan their child's future in post-secondary education and the Dec. 15 gathering will address communicating with teenagers through conflict.
As a counselor, McKee has seen how conflicts at home can sometimes affect a child's mood and performance in the classroom, from problems with depression to concerns over watching their parents struggle financially.
"When these kids come to school they bring everything they have or don't have with them," McKee said.
The sessions next year will deal with helping parents understand teenage substance abuse and teenage depression.
Although McKee would like to see every parent attend, she said she would be pleased if at least five parents showed up for the sessions and eventually developed into a support group.
"Even if you don't think you have anything to learn, you need to come," McKee said.
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Keith Paradise can be reached at kparadise@publicopinionnews.com or 262-4811.
'How to survive the teen years'
When: Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Shippensburg Area Middle School
What: Eight meetings from October through May giving parents suggestions and tools to help them better communicate with their teen about numerous issues such as planning a post-secondary career after high school, teenage depression and substance abuse. To see more of the Public Opinion, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.publicopiniononline.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pa.