The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
file photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the percentage of teenagers who are working in America is abysmally low. In the 1950s, almost half of teenagers were working. That work rate slid slightly in the 40 percent to 45 percent range when baby boomers and Gen Xers were teens in the 1970s, and 1980s.
Continue reading Work Ethic: Teenagers Just Don’t Work Anymore
file photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) today announced a new online application for teenagers who need working papers – at MyWorkingPapers.nj.gov – launching June 1.
Continue reading NJ Teens to Get Working Papers Online Starting June 1st
How Netflix became the number one streaming service in just ten years, with 38 original series, from auteur series like House of Cards and David Fincher’s Mindhunter, a revived sci-fi to witty and straightforward shows about teenagers and puberty.
Photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
December 3,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police and NJ Transit Police officers were summoned to NJ Transit’s Ridgewood passenger rail station on Saturday afternoon, 12/02 to maintain order in response to a telephoned report of approximately 50 disorderly/unruly individuals on the Hoboken bound platform. Ridgewood Police officers determined that the individuals in question were high school students en route to a championship football game at Met Life Stadium. Patrol officers prevented one (1) juvenile male from boarding a departing train and detained him until his parents arrived. A patrol supervisor indicated that the detainee appeared to have been under the influence of an unknown substance. All police activity was cleared from the train station area within 45 minutes of the original request for assistance. No injuries were reported.
Published: 06:26 EDT, 19 September 2017 | Updated: 07:44 EDT, 19 September 2017
Teenagers in America today are about three years behind their counterparts from the 1970s when it comes to taking up sex, drinking alcohol, and working for pay, researchers said Tuesday.
The findings in the journal Child Development were based on an analysis of seven large, nationally representative surveys of 8.3 million teenagers between 1976 and 2016.
The surveys sought to find out how those aged 13 to 19 spent their time, and how often they engaged in adult activities such as drinking alcohol, dating, taking jobs, driving, or having sex, said the report.
file photo by ArtChick
Updated on June 25, 2017 at 7:19 AMPosted on June 25, 2017 at 7:18 AM
BY AMANDA HOOVER
For NJ.com
With the 4th of July just around the corner, families are getting ready to kickoff the summer at the Jersey Shore — and so are the hundreds of people up and down the state who don red suits and spend their summers perched by the ocean, eyes fixed on the waves, waiting to make a move if any of the swimmers appear in distress.
But in recent years, finding qualified — and enough — lifeguards to fill those stands has become more challenging for New Jersey’s beach patrols. Coastal living expenses, demanding college athletic programs and a difficult job market post-graduation are partially to blame.
Now we know on which side of the political aisle the problem lies with respect to incivility in public discourse. (Rev. Jan, former Mayor Aronsohn, are you and your cabal of energizer bunnies paying attention?)
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As if this circumstance wasn’t painfully apparent from early on in the primary process, through the general election season, and on into the transitional period.
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So-called social justice warriors, many of them quite young, as well as battle-scarred political progressives have blood coming out of their eyes, out of their nose, out of their…whatever. Such is their dissatisfaction with the political transformation the country has voluntarily gone through after eight years of amateur hour America-bashing under Obama and a Republican party that has proven it can’t take “yes” for an answer (because it is inexplicably failing to line up behind Trump, the best thing to happen to them in many decades).
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The attempted assassin was going after members of the Congressional freedom caucus. He knew where the true obstacles were that stand in the way of the retrogressive statist agenda he (as a true, though deluded, believer) shares with Pelosi and the rest of the paleoliberals in D.C.
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Creating unnecessary political conflict, indeed stoking civil chaos, is the new priority of the progressives, and even the swamp-dwelling RINOs. Trump needs to bulldoze through all of it. He has the red-blooded American people behind him, even if Ridgewood has recently been overrun with emotional (if not chronological) teenagers.
April 15, 2017 by ALESSIA SANTOROFirst Published: April 6, 2017
Chances are you’ve either heard of Netflix’s new series 13 Reasons Why, or your teen has expressed interest in watching it. An adaptation of a YA novel with the same name by Jay Asher, the series navigates the aftermath of high school student Hannah Baker’s suicide. Before taking her own life, Hannah creates 13 cassette tapes, each one dedicated to a person who somehow played a part in her decision to commit suicide, causing guilt and paranoia between members of the selected group. The series covers a number of heavy topics, to say the least, so if you’re the parent of a teen who has expressed interest in binge-watching the heartbreaking and brutally honest show, there are a few things you should know first.
Of course you know your child and what they can handle best, but the series is rated MA for a reason, as in addition to suicide, there are a number of other difficult topics touched upon such as sexual assault and rape, bullying, and depression. Because of this, we’d recommend teens 15 and older delving into the series. Although you may want to shield your teen from these heavy topics, they’re the same age as the kids in the series, meaning they may have already been exposed to some of these more difficult issues in one way or another at school or on social media.
So if your teen is interested in watching the series (or maybe they know nothing about it, but you’d like to watch it with them to open communication lines), here are a few things you should know — and a few reasons we support you in watching it with them — before you start binging.
September 8,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, From piggy banks to that first savings account, many children are taught the value of saving from an early age.
But as they grow to adolescence, following parental advice sometimes gives way to peer or media influences, and those once-thrifty children are now teenagers in a consumer-driven world where spending, not saving, is king.
“Nearly everyone falls into two categories: spenders and savers,” says John Cortines, co-author with Gregory Baumer of God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School (www.godandmoney.net). “Spending is easy, so it’s up to parents to start conversations with their teens on the importance of saving and, just as importantly, giving.”
Cortines and Baumer suggest three ways parents can help teens establish good financial habits before they reach adulthood, and pave the way for those teens to become generous people as well as good savers:
• Help them begin saving for retirement now. Teens who land a part-time job often want to save money to buy a car or they simply want to enjoy a little financial freedom with weekend shopping sprees. Unless they’re careful, that money burning a proverbial hole in their pocket is spent before the next payday. Parents can help them think beyond today by suggesting they invest a portion of that income in a Roth IRA. Mom and Dad can even consider matching their teen dollar-for-dollar on their savings. “Explain the wonder of compounding investment returns – how the money they invest as a teen could be worth 10 to 20 times as much when they retire,” Cortines says.
• Family philanthropy. Even if the gifts are modest, Cortines and Baumer advocate involving teens in the family giving plan. Encourage them to research charities and apply for “grants” from the family’s budget for giving. “The experience of learning about nonprofits will be invaluable,” Baumer says. This is also where another portion of the teen’s earnings from a part-time job could be placed.
• Let them into your journey. Parents should model what they want their teens to emulate. Cortines said this begins with “letting them see your character as reflected in financial decisions.” That doesn’t mean letting teens know their parents’ net worth or the details of their income. Baumer and Cortines suggest explaining to teens how living modestly has short- and long-term benefits, whether it has allowed an early payoff of a mortgage, or demonstrates that frugal purchasing decisions leave money available for charitable giving.
“If you frame the conversation well,” Baumer says, “teens will benefit from seeing your character on display as you navigate your finances.”
Once saving and giving goals are fulfilled, teens can then begin to focus on spending.
“But unless spending is kept under control,” Cortines says, “saving and giving simply aren’t possible at any meaningful level.”
About John Cortines and Greg Baumer
John Cortines and Greg Baumer are co-authors of God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School (www.godandmoney.net). Baumer is VP of Business Development for naviHealth, a Nashville-based healthcare technology firm. Cortines is Executive VP of Emerging Leaders for Generous Giving, an organization that exists to share the biblical message of generosity.
May 11,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, When a bright, happy preteen evolves into a self-absorbed or anxious teenager, apprehensive parents can’t help but wonder, “What’s wrong with my child?”
The answer could be “nothing,” other than the typical struggles adolescents have always faced, says Jeffrey Leiken, author of “Adolescence is Not a Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs and Dangerous Friends – The Journey to Adulthood” (www.Leiken.com).
As CEO of Evolution Mentoring International, Leiken provides mentoring for teens and young adults, going beyond the typical work of a therapist by building a relationship so that they come to see Leiken as a trusted confidant who answers their late-night text messages and isn’t quick to label them.
“I don’t start with the premise that there is something wrong with them that needs to be fixed,” Leiken says. “The teens and young adults I work with often are saner than the system they are in – a system that seems to forget we are raising humans, not building robots.”
Parents sometimes get caught up in that system, too, but in many cases they just need to chill, he says.
Leiken says parents who want to prepare teenagers for the day they will venture out on their own should:
• “Great advice, wrong source” – Enlist the aid of other adults. Parents are puzzled when they give excellent advice that their teenager promptly ignores. But adolescents often discard words of wisdom from their parents that they would embrace if the guidance came from someone else. That’s why it’s important to enlist the help of other adults who can offer coaching, training and guidance to the teen.
• Avoid letting fear be the guide. Too many parents are on edge, worried that if their teen isn’t in the top 1 percent of the high school class, they will be denied hope for economic prosperity, status and independence. Their anxieties can rub off on young people who become hesitant to take risks for fear of endangering their future. Instead of scaring them, parents need to encourage teens to step outside their comfort zones and take risks that will help them grow into confident, well-rounded adults.
• Help teens eliminate choices. One popular bit of advice parents hear is they should encourage teenagers to keep all their options open. That sounds like a good strategy, but isn’t. In reality, parents need to encourage teens to eliminate options – such as for colleges or careers – that aren’t and never will be right for them. The teens’ decision-making abilities will increase as a result.
“Parents also need to realize they don’t have to become experts in raising teenagers,” Leiken says. “They just have to become expert in raising their own teenager.”
About Jeffrey Leiken
Jeffery Leiken (www.Leiken.com) is the CEO of Evolution Mentoring International and is co-founder of HeroPath International. Leiken also is author of “Adolescence is Not a Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs and Dangerous Friends – The Journey to Adulthood.” He has presented at TED in Athens, Greece; guest lectured at Stanford University; and facilitated programs for teenagers on three continents and in seven countries, among other accomplishments. He has a master’s degree in educational counseling.
A Billion Dollar Stool to Reach the Bottom Rung of the Job Ladder
Adam Millsap
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
In February, the Obama administration proposed a “First Job” initiative. The main goal of the aptly titled initiative is to help unemployed young people obtain their first job by spending $5.5 billion on grants, training, and direct wages. Unfortunately – but unsurprisingly – the press release failed to acknowledge the most significant factor impeding employment in this age group: the minimum wage.
Everyone knows that a first job is a vital step in a young person’s development. Research has shown that work experience at a young age teaches positive work habits, time management, perseverance, and improves self-confidence. Increases in teenage employment also reduce the rate of violent crime. Yet despite these well-known benefits, the US maintains a minimum wage policy that makes it very difficult for all but the most productive teenagers to find a job.
When the minimum wage was discussed in the late 19th and early 20th century it was in the context of preventing the least skilled, most “undesirable” workers from finding a job, with the goal of eradicating the unemployable people. For the next 80-plus years it was common knowledge that a minimum wage would reduce employment among the least-skilled workers. The only debate was about whether such a reduction was desirable from society’s perspective, as many of the appalling eugenicists of the time contended.
As late as 1987, the New York Times editorial staff recommended a minimum wage of $0 because of its negative effects on employment. The Times argued that the minimum wage was an ineffective anti-poverty tool whose employment costs outweighed any benefits from higher wages.
https://fee.org/articles/taxpayers-pay-through-the-nose-for-the-minimum-wage/
By BENEDICT CAREYSEPT. 16, 2015
Fourteen years ago, a leading drug maker published a study showing that the antidepressant Paxil was safe and effective for teenagers. On Wednesday, a major medical journal posted a new analysis of the same data concluding that the opposite is true.
That study — featured prominently by the journal BMJ — is a clear break from scientific custom and reflects a new era in scientific publishing, some experts said, opening the way for journals to post multiple interpretations of the same experiment. It comes at a time of self-examination across science — retractions are at an all-time high; recent cases of fraud have shaken fields as diverse as anesthesia and political science; and earlier this month researchers reported that less than half of a sample of psychology papers held up.
“This paper is alarming, but its existence is a good thing,” said Brian Nosek, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, who was not involved in either the original study or the reanalysis. “It signals that the community is waking up, checking its work and doing what science is supposed to do — self-correct.”
Posted: Jul 29, 2015 4:01 PM EDTUpdated: Jul 30, 2015 7:54 PM EDT
By Beth Galvin, FOX Medical Team Reporter
ATLANTA -As Georgia students get ready to head back to class, a disturbing study.
Researchers found preteens and teens – especially boys – with behavioral issues like ADHD are being prescribed anti-psychotic medications. They’re ending up on drugs typically reserved for people with brain disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Dr. Taz Bhatia, who founded the Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine, read through the study, and found the numbers troubling.
She says, “If you look at the statistics, it’s almost like 1.5 percent of our boys between the ages of 10 and 18 are on an antipsychotic medication.”
And researchers at Columbia and Yale Universities and the New York State Psychiatric Institute warned antipsychotic medications can cause major side effects, like a blunting of emotions and severe weight gain. And, unlike stimulants like Ritalin, antipsychotics are not FDA-approved for use in children with behavioral issues.
Dr. Bhatia, who goes professionally by Dr. Taz, says, “Nobody, whether you’re a mom trying to advocate for your child, or you’re a physician trying to decide what’s best for the child, nobody wants a child on a medication with long-term side effects that may even affect their development. Nobody wants that. We have to create a system that really digs and looks for other options for these kids.”
Dr. Taz acknowledges that some kids need an ADHD medication. But, she thinks it should be used only as part of a broader treatment plan that includes lifestyle and dietary changes and behavioral therapy.
So, what should you do if your child’s doctor is recommending a pill? Dr. Taz says, “My first recommendation would be to make sure you’re on the lowest dose of that medication with the fewest side effects.”
Next, Dr. Taz says ask what else you can do – along with the medication – to help your child succeed.
She says, “That’s where you and your doctor should be talking about sleep and diet, and (about) other things. Like, about school, and are they well-matched to the school they’re about to enter?”
HARDEEP MATHARU Saturday 01 August 2015
Being the “cool kid” might seem ideal at school but it can land you in difficulties later on in life, according to a new study.
The work, “Whatever Happened to the Cool Kids?”, was published in the journal Child Development by researchers at the University of Virginia, and looked at the lives of more than 180 teenagers in America over a decade.
But the results might not be to the liking of those who want to rule the roost at their schools.
According to the study, teenagers who tried to act cool and were popular during their younger years had a higher risk of experiencing problems as adults, including alcohol and drug abuse, and becoming involved in crime.
So ‘cool teens’ – made popular in films by characters such as James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Rachel McAdams inMean Girls – may go on to lose out.
Compared to their counterparts in recent years, high-school seniors in the mid-1990s appeared to have more faith in social mobility and less confidence in the power of having money.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
JOE PINSKER
JUN 15, 2015
In 1996, when asked a series of questions about the brightness of her future, one high-school senior in an unnamed Midwestern state said, “There’s been extraordinary examples of people that have been poor and stuff that have risen to the top just from their personal hard work … not everybody can do that, I realize, but I think a lot of people could if they just tried.”
In 2011, a survey with identically worded questions was done in the same state, with the same age group. “You can always work hard, but if you aren’t given the opportunity or you don’t have the funds to be able to continue working hard then you never get the chance to get out of where you are,” said one student.
What a difference 15 years makes. In the 1990s, those loosed upon the world after high-school graduation faced a booming economy and relatively sunny job prospects; more recently, high-school and college graduates have faced less hospitable conditions. A study published recently in the Journal of Povertyjuxtaposes adolescents’ perceptions from those two eras, and the results, while qualitative and limited by their small sample size, suggest that young Americans’ outlook on social mobility has gotten bleaker. (The study’s findings align with a more-expansive survey of young people suggesting an erosion of confidence in the American Dream.)
