Teens + weight loss = a bad combo

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Hi friends! Summer is practically here so we have taken it upon ourselves to issue the official Mom Rules of Summer. Feel free to add your own, but the biggest unbreakable rules from our list? Have fun, wear sunscreen, and remember: life is short, get the ice cream cone.

Weight Loss Supplements Are Not the Answer

We’ve come a long way with discussing body image issues, but it’s not yet a thing of the past. Teenagers are still feeling the pressure to be thin…and some of them are using medically unapproved products to lose weight.

The details: Nearly 1 in 10 teens have used non-prescribed weight-loss products such as diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics, according to a new Harvard study. And the scary part? These products are often marketed as “fitness supplements” to our kids…and they both 1) rarely work and 2) can have severe physical and psychological impacts on teens.

So what are parents to do? First of all, talk to your kids about the difference between being healthy and doing something dangerous to change the way you look. You can also…

• Monitor what your kids buy online (plenty of these awful supplements are featured in ads targeted to teens on social media).

• Advocate for government regulation of weight loss supplements. Just last year, New York passed a law that banned the sale of diet and fitness supplements to minors. This needs to be the standard everywhere, as far as we’re concerned!

Netflix’s Popular Kids Podcast Drops New Episodes

Looking for an activity that will engage and entertain the whole family? Check-out Popcorn Brainstorm! Jokes & Trivia for Kids, the chart-topping Kids & Family podcast from Netflix. Featuring trivia, games and jokes from your kids’ favorite Netflix films and series, Popcorn Brainstorm explores and quizzes listeners on Leo, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, The Dragon Prince, and many others!

Just Say No to Nighttime Doom Scrolling

All scrolling is doom scrolling if you do it for too long. 😬 And our children aren’t immune to it—we all fall into the trap of five minutes of nighttime social media that turns into an hour.

Did you know: Poor sleep is directly correlated to excessive social media usage, per a neurological study done in 2018. We all need sleep to function properly, whether we’re 9 or 99.

That’s why we like this: Meta (the artist formerly known as Facebook) has implemented a “nighttime nudge” on Instagram, which encourages teens to close the app for the night when they’ve been scrolling after 10pm. We’re realistic—we know many teens will ignore the notification. But hey, planting the seed to put down that phone can’t hurt, right?

Empathy Always Prevails 

This just in: Raising your children with compassion is a good thing! If you’re one of our OGs, you know that news is about as groundbreaking as florals for spring. But it’s still important, and the data say so!

A study published in the Child Development Journal found that teens who were raised in an empathetic household are much more likely to pay it forward…and that universal parenting reality strikes again: Kids practice what they’re shown at home.

The world can be really chaotic. As parents, so many things are out of our control. But what we can control are the values we instill in our children. We can raise kids who view compassion as a virtue to help create a kinder, gentler, more empathetic world. ❤️

What we want to tell our teens: We are still fun…sorry not sorry! Nothing seems to embarrass them more than their parents having a good time. To them, chauffeurs and snack purveyors don’t get to party…bet you can relate.

But our kids will just have to deal. Because we know the fun doesn’t stop when you have kids. And we can be amazing parents and let loose every now and then! So today, the perfect recs to have a d*mn good time this summer:

• Bring back the best dance moves from your teen years, because you’re never too old to bust a move. 

• Speaking of dancing…well, we tried.

• How about some fun activities the whole family can enjoy? Sign us up!

• Words to live by: It’s my summer too—who cares if there are dishes in the sink?