Students need sleep to succeed

stuff.co.nz, 21 July 2008
Teenagers need nine hours of sleep a night and parents can help by getting them back on a school sleep schedule before classes begin, researchers suggest. Early morning classes can be particularly hard on teenagers because "their circadian rhythms change at puberty and they want to go to sleep later and wake up later," Robert Roberts, a professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health, said. more...

Of course it's not only school work that is affected by a lack of sleep - it affects all areas of a teenager's life. When counselling young people who are not coping with some aspect of life it can be useful to determine whether or not they are getting enough sleep. Not sleeping enough not only causes problems but limits the teens ability to cope with problems.

All in the mind in battle of sexes

The Dominion Post, 21 July 2008
It will come as no surprise to women – parts of their brains are bigger then men's. There is, however, no winner in this battle of the sexes – scientists have also found some areas of male brains are larger than those of females. The findings are part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that male and female brains are very different, both in physical features and the way they're wired. more...

Not a lot of specific content here apart from a few "myths" but this article is a good reminder of what we see in youth ministry and what God intended - that adolescent boys and girls do think and react differently.

Getting youngsters on the straight and narrow

The Dominion Post, 28 June 2008
In the garage at the rear of the Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic in Porirua is a pole laden with coloured scarfs, mostly blue or red. Each one represents a young person who has given up gang life in an effort to better themselves. They have been shown a different path by Fa'amatuainu Wayne Poutoa, who founded the Streets Ahead programme to reduce gang recruitment, violence and crime. When they finish the five-day course, armed with new self- knowledge, they hand over their colours – and move on. more...

A valuable insight into what programme is doing to combat the gang problem. Many of the principles and insights are useful for us working with young people from any background. Check out the Streets Ahead bebo page.

Let's stop trying to turn girls into probationary sexpots

The Melbourne Age, 23 June 2008
I've just learnt to be an A+ kisser. I'm also totally in the know about hooking up, performing oral sex (with or without braces) and girl-on-girl pashing. I've read the sealed section too and know that 58% of readers lost their virginity between age 10 and 15. This, I guess, means I'm either hot — or not. As for rehab, that's a bit like staying in a really posh hotel isn't it? What would I do without Dolly magazine? more...

The pressure is on for our girls to grow up quickly and magazines like Dolly are leading the push. If you've not read these magazines its worth getting hold of a copy to see for yourself the messages - subtle and not so subtle - that are being fed to our young people. We may not be able to stop them reading them but we can raise the issues with them and present a different viewpoint, teaching discernment. Perhaps we also have a role in educating parents of our young people as to the harmful influences these magazines present. See also our earlier blog post for more comment.

Wanted: Men for mentoring scheme

NZ Herald, 25 June 2008
New Zealand's biggest youth mentoring programme, Project K, is running out of men. The programme, founded in 1995 by mountaineer Graeme Dingle and his partner Jo-anne Wilkinson, attracted only one man to its last mentor training course in Auckland. Nationally, it had to use women to mentor 44 of its 174 male students last year as well as all 122 female students, even though it aims to match men with boys and women with girls. more...

What a great opportunity to be involved in young people's lives. Any takers? For more information see the Project K website.

Youth ministry's seven biggest words

by Jeanne Mayo, Simply Youth Ministry
I just slipped away from our church gym to finish this column. I wish you could be with me for the experience. Our youth group is sponsoring our “first ever dodge ball tournament”…complete with enough energy and testosterone to make you think that you were at the NBA playoffs! ... What’s my role in the competition? ... I’m living out youth ministry’s seven biggest words; and I’ve learned a long time ago that this principle is a simple one that you cannot violate if you want to experience effective youth ministry. more...

Click the link to find out what these seven words are and to read of some very practical things you can do to put these words into practice.

Two words that can kill your youth ministry

by Mark deVries, Simply Youth Ministry
College Street Church* had just hired Jack,* their new youth worker. And because he came to them with limited experience, the church provided him a year of youth ministry coaching. Our first conversation was positive enough. But after our second visit, I had quickly learned Jack’s favorite two words: “I know.” Curiously, each “I know” was promptly followed by his failing to put into action the very principles we believed he already knew. Within 6 months, Jack was moving on. His two-word mantra just didn’t work. It didn’t work with parents, with volunteers, and it especially didn’t work with his boss. more...

The writer gives some excellent tips on how to last in youth ministry by eradicating what he calls "unconscious ignorance".

Why We Need To Go To Church (Part Two)

by Steve Case, Youth Specialties
The funniest joke in the world isn't funny at all if you don't have someone to tell it to. Part of going to church is the sharing of our lives. We pray for each other. We lift each other up. The concerns of our lives weigh down on us like an iron harness. We put one of these on and then are asked to go swimming. Being a part of a church means there are others there to help lift you up, help hold you study while you pull the harness off and hand it to God. Likewise you are there to hold up the next person, to "bear each other's burdens" as the scriptures teach us. more...

A continuation of an earlier article that gives good reasons for going to church.

Harm minimisation: just say no

Sydney Morning Herald, 19 June 2008
Three weeks ago, on May 27, Tony and Angela Wood went to a Chinese restaurant to mark what would have been their daughter Anna's 28th birthday, had she lived. As they do each year, they ordered her favourite meal, Peking duck, and remembered the 15-year-old girl who died in 1995 after taking ecstasy for the first time. But while her parents have been touring schools and spreading the message that illegal drug use is never safe, Anna Wood was being co-opted without their permission as a poster girl of the drug harm-minimisation lobby, which has shaped debate about drug use in Australia for 25 years - but is losing credibility as contrary evidence piles up. more...

The messages received by our young people in relation to drug use are not simply "yes" or "no". There is a line of thought that says our young people will likely experiment with drugs so let's keep the impact to a minimum. The article helps us understand this line of thinking - something which is useful if we are to counter it in the minds of our young people.

Missing both ends

by Chuck Bomar, Simply Youth Ministry
"Tension" is probably a good word to use for the adolescent stage of life. Typically the parent tries to keep his child in childhood, while the child pushes toward adulthood. Although approached with immaturity, adolescents want to think and act in ways that are adult-like. On this side of parenthood, I understand both sides. However, it's one thing to find the balance as a parent or fight for it as a child, but how do we address this as youth workers? more...

The author points out that adolescence covers more than the high school years and makes suggestions as to how best to minister to preteens in the 10-12 age group and the 18 plus age group.

How to break the babysitter syndrome

by Mark deVries, Simply Youth Ministry
“This church doesn’t want a youth minister; they want a babysitter!” More than once, these words have fallen from my lips. And though we may say it differently, with words like, “All these people care about is increasing their kids’ SAT scores and helping them be lacrosse team captains,” “The last thing that church wants is a youth ministry that makes disciples,” the predictable complaint is the same: “This church wants a babysitter!” more...

Ever feel like this - that people expect you to be a babysitter? Is it possible we are part of the problem? In this article the author offers what he calls: "A Sure-Fire Formula for Keeping Your Church Stuck in a Babysitter Mentality."

When you have to be the bad guy

by Jeanne Mayo, Simply Youth Ministry
OK, I guess it’s just an unavoidable part of being in youth ministry. Most all the great suspense and adventure movies have one, so why shouldn’t youth ministry? What am I talking about? I’m referencing the occasional, not-so-fun role of being the “bad guy.” It’s a pretty raw topic for me right now because less than 24 hours ago, I found myself filling that role in a king-sized way. You see, I had to kick a student out of a year-long discipleship program which our youth ministry directs. Believe me, it was not one of my happiest ministry moments. Yet, I knew it was right. more...

The author gives some great practical suggestions on how to handle those situations where we must discipline.