Time spent fighting the bad guys in a video game is likely also time spent consuming snacks and drinks with high sugar content, which is harmful to dental health.

“Every time you eat or drink anything sugary, your teeth are under acid attack for up to one hour,” Said Dr. Nigel Carter or the British Dental Health Foundation. “So it is important to keep sugary foods only to mealtimes, limiting the amount of time your mouth is at risk.”

According to a study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research in Washington, teens addicted to video games may have a significantly increased risk of poor dental health. The researchers discovered that gamers often eat snacks and drink drinks with significantly high sugar content, making them twice more likely to develop tooth decay than kids of a similar age with more active lifestyles.

Childhood tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease. Each year, more than 51 million school hours are lost due to dental-related illnesses.

Parents who are concerned about their children’s dental health and addiction to video games can step in and help. The American Dental Association recommends that parents establish regular meal times and allow healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables in between meals.

Parents should limit the amount of time spent playing video games, watching television, and playing on the computer. Parents can encourage active lifestyles by initiating family activities such as bike riding, going to the park, hiking, and visiting playgrounds. Parents can also support their children’s interest in sports and host play dates with the child’s team members.

Parents should also demonstrate good oral hygiene habits, such as brushing and flossing teeth when waking up in the morning and before going to bed at night. They can provide children with the right dental products that will help protect against tooth decay, such as toothpaste with fluoride.

By setting a good example with eating and dental hygiene routines and encouraging an active lifestyle, parents can combat the effects of video games, sugary snacks, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Reformed Bipolar Crack Addict Takes Readers Along On His Wild Journey To Recovery In New Book
I Believe is a personal journey through addiction recovery. I Believe will empower you to choose your reality. It will awaken you into a world of positivity. Hackensack, NJ (PRWEB) March 4, 2011 Ralph Gonzalez, born and raised in the tough projects of New York City, began experimenting with crack as a teen in the 1980s. He continued smoking the drug in his 20s and his use eventually grew into a …
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Destructive Substances Taken by Teens

Many teens try alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, but using these substances is not safe or legal. Some teens try these substances only a few times and stop. Others can’t control their urges or cravings for them. This is substance abuse.

There are many types of drugs at the disposal of teenagers. Drug abuse among teenagers occur in schools, in social situations, (parties, raves, concerts, sporting events) at home, and out in the streets.

Virtually every drug that is abused by adults is also abused by adolescents. In addition to alcohol, common categories of drugs of abuse include:

Inhalants such as glues, aerosol sprays, gasoline, paints, and paint thinners. They are known by such street names as huffing, sniffing and wanging Inhalants are one of the substances most frequently abused by high school students because they are relatively cheap and readily available. These substances are extremely dangerous because they contain poisonous materials, such as lead and toluene, which can cause brain damage or, in rare cases, even death with the first use.

Club drugs, this term refers to drugs being used by teens and young adults at all-night dance parties such as “raves” or “trances,” dance clubs, and bars. MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol (Rophies), ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD are some of the club or party drugs gaining popularity.   Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added unobtrusively to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others.  In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of club drugs used to commit sexual assaults.

Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as meth, crank, or speed. Methamphetamine is highly addictive. In addition, it can cause seizures, stroke, serious mental problems, including paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions.

Hallucinogens, including LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline, psilocybin, PCP (phencyclidine), and ketamine. Serious and lasting psychiatric conditions such as psychosis or hallucinogenic flashbacks can develop after using LSD.

Opiates, such as heroin, morphine, and codeine. Use of opiates can lead to strong physical and psychological addiction. Heroin has also been appearing in more affluent communities.

Prescription drugs, such as diazepam (for example, Valium), methylphenidate (Ritalin), hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen (Vicodin), and oxycodone (OxyContin). Nonprescription medicines, such as cough syrups or cold pills, are also abused by teens.

Now pay attention, children.

After extensive research, my findings have shown that no one in fact on the internet has any sort of idea about the number of people visiting social sites every single day.
I have come across conclusions on Facebook being visited over 1,500,000 times daily, in another statistic, Hi5 somehow ended up as 4th most visited site (sorry…the last time I checked, Hi5 was a kid’s TV program here in New Zealand) with 20,000 people visiting the site daily (doesn’t seem like a believable statistic to qualify for top 5 most visited social sites).

Anyway, my rambling comes to the following three points I’d like to bring up:

#1. Why are Social Sites Important?
#2. What is it about social sites that makes people join?
#3. Should we even bother with them?

#1: Why are Social Sites important?
Firstly, no matter how bad the statistics are at agreeing on the fact that a VERY LARGE NUMBER of people go on social sites every single day all over the world, it has been described as a gold mine by many business ‘gurus’. Bottom line: there is no other sort of sites that have this many visitors daily. Visitors that keep both multiplying, and coming back ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY. It is a way to be seen, be heard, be part of groups, clubs, messages, blogs, and connect with people such as little Johnny you saw in the playground when you were 8. Real life example: My Facebook swears my ex-boyfriend (who I went out with for a week when I was 14) is infact my ‘friend’, and whenever I want to, I can always engage in a virtual game of Poker through a request he sent me about 6 months ago…so I can always take him up on that, without a) actually speaking to him, and b) without actually seeing him for the past 5 years.
So there you have it:
- You can literally count your popularity by the amount of ‘friends’ you add
- Find long-lost friends
- Socialize
- Show off your recent pictures
- Use it for business networking – business is all about relationships between people, and social networking is a casual, semi-professional way to socialize with potential clients, partners, and whatnot. This is the real reason why some people who know how to build their relationships online swear that social networking has doubled and tripled their business. So don’t think social sites are purely a waste of time!

#2: So, what is it about social sites that makes people join?
Because everyone else is. If your friends are talking about joining some group on Facebook, you’d look a bit silly if you were the only one that didn’t have a Facebook, so I guess you’d make a mental note to sign up that evening. Well, I mean that’s how I got addicted to MySpace when I was 16…

#3: Should we even bother with them?
Yes!
For one thing, it’s the latest hype, and many people you know or are related to probably have them.
For another thing, it is the perfect way to get to teenagers.
Teenagers use all these social sites – they socialize on there for hours and hours, and it is the perfect way to be part of their world and understand it a little bit better – if you Twitter once, you’ll get addicted!…Maybe…

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Biggest Social Sites Tip: Don’t stalk teens online!
Make a social network page for yourself because you want to/need to, not because you want to stalk a teenager you know.

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WORLD’S HOTTEST SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES RIGHT NOW

Facebook
Famous for finding long-lost friends online. Has very recently become the ‘it’ thing for er…adults (that’s anyone over 20 for me)

MySpace
Became famous for its music and the option to put up music of your band, singing, and what not. I used to love it because you can fully personalize it – you can just have a photo of you and a comment box on your ‘profile’ and that’s it…so it makes you a bit more knowledgeable about HTML codes.

Bebo
EVERY single one of my friends has Bebo. And even big companies like Telecom have followed the trend – advertising Bebo as a cell phone application to boost sales, competitions on their Bebo page. If you’re a business looking for something that will hit it big with teens, I would hands down say you NEED to be on Bebo (and give Luv once in a while! ).

Twitter
Has taken the world by storm, because of all the celebrities using it. I didn’t see what the big deal is, and have only recently become a bit of an addict. Basically you can update the entire world (or at least your ‘followers’) about what you’re doing at this precise moment. Handy.

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Happy Social Networking and Un-Stalking!

Eva-Maria
<3

www.trustyourfuture.co.nz
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Check out the YouTube Video about Teens and Social Networking Sites HERE!

Want ALL the answers to social sites?
From setting up profiles to marketing secrets, you need MY LATEST E-BOOK:

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- Why Social Networking Sites Are So Popular
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- And Much More!

Discover Social Network and Marketing Secrets:
http://www.trustyourfuture.com/socialmarketing.html
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Follow my adventures on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/EvaMaria12345

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Sadly today we hear of so many teenagers who are in trouble. It might be for breaking the law, being addicted to drugs or alcohol, facing social problems such as obesity or bulimia, depression or simply defying parents and/or teachers. There are two people in need in this situation. Obviously the teen needs appropriate help but so too do his or her worried parents.

The worried parents can greatly assist their troubled son or daughter by placing them in a facility specifically designed for troubled teens. And the word ‘appropriate’ was used before and is highly relevant. The help given to the teen must be appropriate to the needs of the child.

There are several types of treatment centers available including boot camps, wilderness camps, military schools, specialist treatment centers and boarding schools. Each has its own characteristics and much to offer a particular type of troubled teen. This is where the parent needs to make a decision or two.

Have your child assessed by a professional and even a specialist if necessary, find out what exactly is wrong i.e. what needs to be treated and then find the appropriate place or facility which caters specifically for your child.

Here is a brief rundown on what you can expect at a typical facility under these headings.

A boot camp is the opposite of a summer camp in that it is no holiday. Boot camps are mainly for teens that are rebellious. The camp may last only a few weeks or months, is run on a military style format and gives the teen little time to get into trouble. Lots of tough and challenging physical work with the aim of giving each resident a positive attitude to life.

A wilderness camp is set in the great outdoors and makes use of this environment. A big feature is outdoor education where residents are required to look after themselves in pitching tents, making a fire and cooking. Therapy is part of the program and aim to help teens who are depressed, low in self-confidence or lack a desire to do well at school or almost in everything. Camps last a few weeks.

Military schools no longer cater for wild teenage boys. In fact there are strict rules one of which is to not give entry to any teen unwilling to attend. If parents want their son or daughter to excel academically or in sport or both, boarding in a military school may well be the answer. It is also an excellent preparation for a career in the military.

Boarding schools offer a fine academic program but include therapy sessions to help teens lose their rebellious nature. Being residential means the teens are under constant care and not mixing with others who may have led them astray.

Residential treatment centers offer a 24/7 care and treatment situation and are designed for serious teen problems like drug addiction and self-harm. These centers charge accordingly as there will be significant one on one staff and student relationships.

Parents can spend time examining the various alternatives or seek help from groups like Parent Help. The key of course is to find the best center for the needs of your troubled teen.