As Fourth of July approaches, the number of roadside stands selling fireworks has increased. Much to my dismay.

I've always been nervous around fireworks that aren't done professionally. One year, a friend of mine was setting off fireworks behind their house. His wife said to me "Why are you afraid of fireworks?" and I explained that they just seemed dangerous. Not more than a minute or two later, one of the firecrackers misfired and a small ball of fire came at my face! Luckily I had a blanket on my lap and it stopped the firework - but it burnt the blanket.

We were adults and something went wrong. Thousands of people are injured by fireworks every year. It is not safe for your teen to be handling any type of fireworks or firecrackers. Let that to the adults. Better yet, go to your community's fireworks display - that's safest for everyone.

A recent article about teens, dads and sex is interesting, encouraging...and a little sad. Recent research suggests that teens who have fathers who are involved in their lives are less likely to make risky sexual choices, like having unprotected sex. If Dad knows who his friends are, he is less likely to have risky sex. If Dad knows where she is going, she is less likely to make those poor choices regarding sex. Pretty neat, huh? All you need is an involved father (and the continued support of mom, of course). It is suggested in the research that some how dads interact differently with their children, so the message gets across in a different way.

What is sad is how few teens grow up with a father at all, let alone one who knows about his child's life. Much like President Obama did on Father's Day, I challenge all fathers to become more involve in their children's lives. They just do better with a dad around.

"Teens with untreated depression more often have social and academic problems, become parents prematurely, abuse drugs and alcohol and suffer adult depression and suicide."

Parents, read that quote again, it's an important one. I took it directly from a report that discusses current research about teens and depression. Now, consider this. Teens are very worried about what their friends would think if they got help for depression. They are also very concerned about what their families will think. And if you aren't supportive and can't help them get to treatment, they won't get help. Leading to the problems discussed above.

My best advice is that if your teen is saying he or she is depressed - get your teen help, and quickly. Maybe it is a temporary funk, or maybe it really isn't depression - but maybe it is. What do you have to lose by taking your child to a counselor or therapist? The benefits almost always outweigh the risks.

MTV's 16 and Pregnant is a new reality show featuring young teens who are navigating life as pregnant women. The show premiers tomorrow night, June 11th, at 10 pm ET.

It's probably not a school night where you live, so if you can stay up this late, I would highly recommend watching this with your teen. Chances are your teen knows girls who are pregnant, but this "behind-the-scenes" look at teen pregnancy and parenting could be eye opening. I love using popular shows as ways to open up conversations with teens, and this might be a great time to bring up your expectations of your teen about sex and to have a bit of "the talk".

I've worked with a number of teen moms. It is a difficult situation for the teen mom, her family, the father of the baby, and the child. If this show can open up a conversation about sex and its consequences, and helps to prevent a teen pregnancy or two, it will be a success.

Apparently, it's pretty dangerous for your teen's health.

I thought it was only my stepdaughter, but a recent article suggests that texting is having an impact on teen's sleep and functioning. The average teen sends and receives over 2000 text messages a month. This over-the-top messaging is leading to some serious problems.

One problem we have had is that our daughter would stay up late and text her friends. This was only a newly discovered phenomenon when she blearily came down the steps one morning saying she didn't feel well. I suspected it was because she was tired, but couldn't be sure. Coincidentally her father was home from work that day. He discovered she wasn't sick, but she was definitely tired and we are fairly certain it was because she was up late texting. We are going to have to find out how to handle this issue next school year - most likely by telling her that she has to give up her phone at night until she can prove she can be more responsible about texting.

The article also mentions that repetitive stress injuries from the action of typing can happen. Teens who text excessively are also too distracted in school to learn and are more anxious. These are some significant consequences for what seems like harmless behavior. Parents have two great options that can be used together to curb this problem. One option is to limit texting - limit texting time or limit the number of texts your teen can have. The second option is to limit your own texting. Kids (although they won't admit it) often emulate their parents. Get off your Blackberry and set a good example!

The Girl Scouts of the USA have partnered with Windows to create two websites focused on online safety. Let Me Knowis the site for parents and LMK is the teen site.

The site for parents has helpful tips on different aspects of online safety, an option to sign up for a newsletter, and even a list of those abbreviations your teen uses when he texts. OMG IDK most of what they are talking about half the time, but you'll at least be able to translate this message if you go to the site!

The site for teens has great information on how to stay safe on line, written in a teen friendly manner. The videos are real teens talking about these safety issues, and the videos are informative without being heavy-handed (you know how your teen reacts when being "lectured"!)

Ok, C U L8R! (If you don't know what that means, you really need to visit Let Me Know!)

It looks as if the swine flu, or H1N1 influenza virus, might not turn into the problem that it looked like it might be. Part of the reason that there was a panic was because the flu looked like it had the ability to kill people at high rates, and to kill those who were previously healthy. It is also a completely new and novel virus to researchers, so they could predict little about how the virus would spread and what it was capable of.

If you and your family washed their hands, stayed home when sick and covered your cough - congratulations! If your school closed and didn't complain (too much), that's also great. The schools were in a tough position, and were only trying to do what they felt was best with the information that they had.

If you organized an outing on the days that the schools were closed for your teen and his or her friends, please consider NOT doing that in the future. The purpose of closing school is to keep those who are infected away from each other, to prevent the spread of disease. Because you can be infectious before you show symptoms, someone could spread the disease without knowing it.

There is no way to know if this strain of flu virus will come back bigger and badder and deadlier than ever next year. Don't forget the lessons learned from this round of swine flu so that we can be even more effective in preventing its spread next time around.

With the recent outbreak of the swine flu in the United States, parents might be wondering what they can do to protect their children. A handful of swine flu cases were found in a high school in New York, illustrating that teens are not immune to this new concern.

In short, if your child has flu-like symptoms, contact your pediatrician and keep your teen home from school. The signs of this flu are like traditional influenza with fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. It is reported that people with swine flu can also have vomiting and diarrhea. There are anti-viral medications that are thought to be effective for this new virus, so seeking help early might make a difference in preventing the illness from getting worse.

Good handwashing is always important in preventing disease. Encourage your teen to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if handwashing isn't possible. Give teens tissues so that they can cover their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. The virus is transmitted between people through respiratory droplets - the small drops that are sprayed out during a sneeze or cough. A tissue helps to prevent these droplets from spreading, but make sure that the tissue is thrown away! These tips can help prevent the spread of the disease and protect your child from catching it.

Another important way to keep your children safe is by having them avoid those who are sick. If your child's school closes in an attempt to prevent further spread of the virus, they are doing it because it's in your teen's best interest. It may extend the school year, but your child's health is more important than a longer summer. No one really knows what this virus is capable of, so taking every precaution to protect your teen is important.

For more information visit the CDC and their information on swine flu.

A new research study found that birth control pills have an impact on lean muscle mass in young women. The study looked at women ages 18 to 31 who were given instructions to eat a high-protein diet and were put on a resistance exercise routine. One group of women took oral contraceptive pills, the other did not. What the study found was that the women who took the pills had less lean muscle gain than the women who did not.

What to keep in mind about this study is that they did not control what the women ate, but just suggested a certain diet. Additionally, although the women on the birth control pills had less lean muscle gain, they had the same increases in strength as the women who weren't taking the pills. Keep in mind that this study only looked at oral contraceptive pills, so it can't be said that the same effect would happen if on another form of hormonal birth control. If your daughter is considering a hormonal form of birth control, take this study into consideration but be aware that more research on this topic is needed.

Oprah and O Magazine have done a feature on how parents are discussing sex with their daughters. A survey done by the magazine in conjunction with Seventeen magazine revealed a few surprising issues. The most significant result is that most parents think that they have had the talk with their teens - but only a small fraction of teens feel as if it has happened. What can parents do to have more of an impact?

Discussing sex with your teen should not be a one-time discussion. Talk about abstienence or birth control when a teen pregnancy happens at school or comes up in the media. Talk about sex and how it can be used as a way to be abusive in a relationship. Talk about how oral sex really is sex. Talk about your expectations. Talk about what the statistics say - that teens do wait and those who have sex regret it. The O/Seventeen study suggests that our teens want a continuous conversation, not a one-time discussion. The study also says that when we talk about waiting to have sex and the importance of using birth control if it's happening - they really do listen.