Here is an area where local governments can aid parents: by helping their children not smoke.

According to an Associated Press story, smoking bans in restaurants DO curb smoking among teenagers.

Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The findings back up the idea that smoking bans discourage tobacco use in teens by sending the message that smoking is frowned upon in the community, as well as simply by reducing their exposure to smokers in public places, said Dr. Michael Siegel, of Boston University School of Public Health, and the study's lead author.

Of course, parents wield enormous influence over their children by kicking the habit themselves.

The study found that having a smoker as a parent or a close friend was a factor in predicting whether children experiment with cigarettes. But strong bans had a bigger influence on whether smoking grew into a habit, reducing their chances of becoming smokers by 40 percent.

Massachusetts is among 23 states to ban smoking in most public places, including restaurants and bars, according to AP.

To that question, I say "yes." Regardless of your age, if you have a child you should receive family leave like any other American. In my utopia, that leave would be paid.

But some irked tax payers in the city of Denver would beg to differ. As Brain, Child magazine recently pointed out in its news briefs, there was a case back in January, in which pregnant Denver high school students requested four weeks leave following the birth of their babies. They do not want to be counted as "absent" and want the right to make up their schoolwork. A couple high school counselors approached the school board, but as far as I know, the district has yet to make a decision.

However, according to this Denver Post article, it sounds like it favored changing its policy to accommodate the pregnant teens.

East High School administrators could not be reached for comment over the winter break, but district officials say they are reviewing the policy on absences to make it "friendlier" to new moms, said DPS spokesman Alex Sanchez.

Kayla Lewis, who is five months pregnant and a senior at East, requested that the board establish maternity leave for students at a Dec. 20 public hearing.

"After you have the baby, your body needs time to heal," the 18-year-old said...

School-board member Michelle Moss was baffled that schools were giving girls unexcused absences after birth.

"It's critical that these young women have a chance to bond with their babies," Moss said. "Maybe we do need a policy. Clearly, as a district, we have to look at what is going on with our young women. We've got to look at the birth-control issues and teen pregnancy and how we best help them deal with it and still graduate."

Overseas exchange programs are not uncommon for teenagers, but one Maine teenager got more (or less) than he expected on his year abroad. Jonathan McCullum of Maine spent a year in  Egypt. The teenager came back having lost more than a third of his body weight and blames his host family, Coptic Christians who fast “for more than 200 days of the year.” Jonathan, 17, lost 57lbs in his year in Egypt, staggering home to his parents at a mere 97.8lbs, according to this article in The Age

But he does not view the experience as a culture clash. Rather, he said, it reflected mean and stingy treatment by his host family, whose broken English made it difficult to communicate.

"The weight loss concerned me, but I wanted to stick out the whole year," he said in an interview at his family's home outside Augusta.

Friends and teachers at his English-speaking school in Egypt urged him to change his host family, but he stayed put after being told the other home was in a dangerous neighbourhood of Alexandria.

After returning to the US, he was hospitalised for nearly two weeks. The 17-year-old has regained about 9kg, but his parents say he's not the same boy he was when he left under the auspices of AFS Intercultural Programs.

The host family in Egypt deny that the boy was forced to fast with them, and say he ate normally with them.

The host father, Shaker Hanna, rejected McCullum's story as "a lie," suggesting that he made it up because his parents were hoping to recover some of the money they paid for his stay as compensation.

"The truth is, the boy we hosted for nearly six months was eating for an hour and a half at every meal. The amount of food he ate at each meal was equal to six people," Hanna said. He added that the boy was active, constantly exercising and playing sports.

Hanna, an engineer, said his family went out of its way to prepare special foods, including fish and chicken, for McCullum during the fast periods.

McCullum disputes that. The family served meat early in his stay, he said, but that ended during the fast period.

Good topic, Madwoman! What say you, MotherTalkers? -Elisa

My dear stepdaughter (DSD) is 14. There are four of us adults (both divorced parents have new long term partners) spoiling her. We do talk amongst ourselves and have a united front, but we're usually united in indulging her.

This afternoon DSD wanted to go to the mall after school, and the group of four friends decided to see a movie, and what with one thing and another she didn't get home until 8:30 (bedtime is 9) and her homework was very rushed and she didn't get to bed until 9:30 - and this is a girl who very much needs her sleep. We HAD a "no movies on weeknights" rule (from the last time I took her to a movie on a weeknight and it went badly) but we forgot.

We have also let her go to concerts on school nights - if it's a band she really likes and that's the only night they are in town. The next one is next Monday. My partner has heard from other families (at parent teacher night) that they don't approve and our rules look slack compared to theirs. Do other parents of teenagers, or those of you who used to be teenagers yourselves :), have any advice?

We here at MT try to espouse the "judge not lest ye be judged" mutual detente parenting line when it comes to things that happen in families, save for certain situations (Hello, Lori Drew!). Well, I think Ms. Drew may have some company soon, because I’d like you to join me in contemplating the Curious Case of Corey Worthington. Worthington, 16, has the dubious distinction of being the first tabloid wreck in Australia of 2008. The teenager threw a party last Saturday in his home in suburban Melbourne (as you do). He advertised it on his MySpace account (uh-oh). News spread via internet and SMS (getting worse) Five hundred teenagers showed up (OMFG). Take it away, The Age:

POLICE are investigating how social networking websites, email and SMS messaging may have been used to draw a crowd of up to 500 teenagers to a house party, hosted by a 16-year-old boy while his parents were interstate.

Neighbours called police to break up the party in Galloway Drive, Narre Warren South, after revellers spilled onto the street about 10pm on Saturday.

But some partygoers gathered at a nearby reserve and started throwing bottles at two police vehicles, causing significant damage. Police were forced to retreat until back-up arrived.

Senior Sergeant Russell Patten of Endeavour Hills police said two police cars had to be reinforced by a helicopter, two dog squad units, a critical incident response team, Operation Sarazan (police from Noble Park), transit police and divisional van crews from surrounding suburbs.

Police said several nearby letterboxes were smashed as the crowd dispersed

The damage bill from this Saturday Night rave? A$20,000, including police presence. And the police are seriously considering making kid (and obviously by extension, considering his age) his parents pay back the bill.

I have read several thoughtful and inspiring diaries on this web site and thought I would start some musings about raising older children.  I am the mom of a 15 year old beautiful, independent minded, strong willed daughter and a 20 year old son who battles self defeating behavior and is trying to figure out his place in the grand scheme of things.  It has been a journey like no other, and most days I love being a mom and feel blessed that my children have taught me the true meaning of unconditional love in its purest form!!  

My general philospohy with my kids through the older years is "Pick Your Battles".  I don't always pick the right ones, but the ones I do pick I try to go into battle GRACEFULLY.  Admittedly, I sometimes miss the mark.

So am interested in hearing from liberal minded parents on how they deal with drug use, drug testing, body image, sexual identity, sexual activity, religion, dating, self esteem, respecting your kids' privacy vs. trying to stay one step ahead, homework and college prep issues, etc.

Atrios linked to a couple of articles that exemplified a new version of what I'll call "digital teen trouble." Teens are getting convicted for violating child pornography laws for taking pictures of their own selves and posting them online.

The first is a story about a Pittsburg girl, 15, who took lots of sexxxy pix of herself and sent them to people she met in chatrooms.

She has been charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography.

The second story involves Amber, 16, and her boyfriend Jeremy, 17, who got naked and busy like many other teens before them. In a modern twist, they took digital pictures of themselves, and Amber later emailed the photos to Jeremy.

One can assume that someone in a position of authority (dad?) saw the pictures and threw a fit. And the teenagers ended up in court, prosecuted for violating Florida's kiddie porn laws.

These are interesting applications of the laws meant to protect children from predators and exploiters. Atrios was responding to an opinion piece that Garance Franke-Ruta wrote for the Wall Street Journal, wherein she argues that the age of consent for nudie shots should be bumped to 21. An excerpt:

In certain obvious respects, 18 years is old enough to ward off the threat of "child porn." But the "Girls Gone Wild" problem concerns adult porn: At what age is a girl ready to make that decision, one that she will live with--technologically speaking, at least--for the rest of her life? A woman of 18 may be physically indistinguishable from one who is 21, but they are developmentally worlds apart.

Think only of the difference between a college freshman and a recent college graduate, or between a high-school senior and a young woman with a job and apartment of her own. Or think of the difference between a 19-year-old girl--intoxicated by both a Scorpion Bowl (illegally served) and her own newly developed form--and a woman who has been through her first heartbreak and has had to think long and hard about what her value is, both in her personal life and at the office. The second woman is more likely to nurse a chardonnay with friends than "go wild" in the sense that Mr. Francis' cameras are so eager to record. Surely the porn industry can survive without the participation of teenagers.

The case that the Supreme Court debated today must have really strained the justices' sense of dignity and/or the muscles required to retain a straight face.

Somewhere in Alaska, a public high school aspired to be a photo-op stop on the trail of the Olympic torch. Just as the torch runner was about to sprint regally down the street bordering the campus, high school senior Joseph Frederick unfurled a home-made banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." Funny + stupid = prank.

That's right. Bong Hits 4 Jesus. Now, imagine, if you will, each of the robed justices uttering this phrase.

I can't imagine how or why this case ended up in the Supreme Court. What happened to the prankster is what would happen to any prankster at pretty much any high school. The principal got pissed, tore the sign down, and suspended the senior for ten days. That's what makes a prank a prank – the risk of getting caught, the thrill of pissing off the authorities, the status that comes from getting in trouble.