I have an 18 year old senior in HS and a 14 yr old 8th grader. My wife and I have always been their PARENTS, and NOT THEIR FRIENDS. Many parents of teens today, (some whom I know), view it the other way around, and their kids are out of control. I would rather have my kids tell me they "hate me" for being a strict parent, rather than never hear their voice again after dying from a drunk driving crash at a parent-sponsored booze party, (yes, this has happened, and continues to happen!)
Not all, but many, teens, (and by teens, I mean as young as 14), are drinking, doing drugs, and having sex, (yes, all the way). It doesn't matter if you are in a poor town or an affluent town. The peer pressure on the kids in middle school and high school to do these things is outrageous. It is also 24 X 7, since they are all texting, facebooking, and instagramming each other constantly. What is disgusting is that many parents are being their kids enablers. I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard, "they're going to do it anyway, so I want them to do it at home where I can control it". That is total BULL____!
We have had two kids die in our town over the last few years as a result of house-parties gone wild.
The issue is not what they are reading; it is what they are DOING, and parents of teens need to get their heads out of the sand and be parents.
MM