Teen Esteem Council Podcast

Student government elections are still a month or two away, but it is not to early to decide if you want to be a part of student government. Two of our council members talk about their experiences in student government and have solid advice for running a winning campaign. 

Dating does indeed rule... especially when there are boundaries that are set to keep you physically and emotionally safe. Each family has different rules for dating. Today our Council shares the rules that are expected of them as they begin dating. Compare the boundaries that you have for dating with those of the Teen Esteem Council.

Ok, so, let's just say that any guy that cheats on his girlfriend is a bad boyfriend. That is pretty obvious. So obvious that we didn't even discuss it on the podcast. We did talk about a few... more subtle things that you can look for to recognize a good boyfriend. Such as: Does your boyfriend offer sincere compliments or just flattery? Is your boyfriend a true gentleman and how you can train him to be more of one. Does the guy dare to talk to you face to face or does he only talk to you over txt messaging? How does a guy treat his parents... especially his mother? How can learning to be unattached to a boy help you avoid heartache? We would love for you to like our Facebook page here. You can also help us out by rating us and leaving comments in itunes. 

This week is the Teen Esteem Council's 3rd birthday. It is also Valentine's Day is this week. We were lucky to have almost all of our concil members for our recording today. The girls share some great ideas on how to love Valentine's Day without a significant other or 'Valentine'. 

It is no secret that teenagers love their cell phones. If you had to guess, what would you think the average amount of text messages sent by teen girls is? Here is a hint... it is more than boys.  Find out the answer to this question and hear some of our thought about why some teen girls are constantly on their phone. Follow this link to read the article that is referenced in this podcast. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/cellphones-teens-data/?scp=2&sq=teens&st=cse

Today we are talking about four things that can cause depression. They are Feeling Defeated Feeling Deserted Feeling Defective Feeling Deprived Understanding why you may feel depressed can help to allow you to begin to move through the depresseion. We realize that there is a continuum of depression. Some people just feel a little blue and will work their way out of it on their own. Others are very depressed and may need professional help to work their way through it. If you feel like you need hlep, please reach out. There are ways for you to get the help that you need.

Does happiness come from the stuff that you have? There is an endless torrent of new technology that is available for teens to want. Today we go through the good and bad of amassing more and more stuff...

Sometimes girls wonder what guys are thinking. This podcast will help to answer those quesions. We will be referring to a book written by John Hilton III and Laney called What Girls Need to Know about Guys; What Guys Need to Know About Girls.  We will be discussing one chapter of the book called What Guys Wish Girls Knew. Some of the topics that we discuss are: Moddest is hottest You are amazing Why playing dumb is not impressive to guys If you can get past the fact taht I totally botch a perfectly good joke, you will find some great advice about what guys really want from girls. If you like what you hear and would like to purchase the book... follow this link: http://deseretbook.com/What-Girls-Need-Know-Guys-John-Hilton-III/i/5058085

So, how do you turn a guy down nicely? The reality is that telling a guy that you aren't interested in him can be hard and scary. Today's podcasts have some great suggestions on how to do it in the best way possible. There are also some great suggestions about setting up boundaries for dating and how boundaries can make turning guys down gently, easier. 

2011 has drawn to a close. It has been an amazing year. Our focus was on being tuned in and there were a lot of good things that were accomplished as the council and those who follow our podcast focused on the needs of those around them. Today we wanted to reminisce about a few of our favorite things about 2011. We discuss music, movies, personal accomplishments and more.

Is there a life lesson that you can learn from National lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Certainly.  Today Mat, Summer, Chantel, and Amanda talk about their favorite Christmas movies and stories and the life lessons that you can learn from them. Some of the lessons are: Don't stalk anybody You'll shoot your eye out Trust your parents Learn from your mistakes Appreciate what you have Don't spend money before you have it We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday season.

We start of today's podcast with a tuned in moment that has been happening at KMart all around the nation. Then Summer quotes Kelly Clarkson about confidence and being comfortable with yourself. Amanda and Chantel have some great opinions on how they have been able to develop confidence in themselves. 

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.Maya Angelou Around Christmas time giving is on everyones minds. The quote above is an excellent introduction to our topic for today's podcast. We talk about what giving means for us and why we feel it is important for us to give. It is often said that it is better to give than receive. Join us as we share our thoughts about why that is true for each of us. If you would like to read more quotes about giving, follow this link. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/giving.html#ixzz1gEmKN7nb

This is such an exciting time of year. It is the first week of December and we are starting to talk about Christmas right from the beginning.  Today's podcast is also exciting because we are rejoined with our friends Cara and Chantel. They have been really busy over the last few months with volleyball and a play. We appreciate having them back. Christmas is a time that families enjoy holiday traditions. Each of us on the podcast today share what family traditions we have during the holiday season. 

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday.  Today we discuss the 3rd pillar of self-esteem... making small commitments to yourself. When you accomplish something small by keeping a commitment to yourself, your self esteem goes up. When you break a commitment to yourself, even a small one, it has a negative effect on how you feel about yourself. Brianna joins our discussion again and gives some personal examples that we can all relate to. Mat confesses his powerlessnes against candy and treats. Summer gives everyone a challenge to accomplish during the week.

Before I get into the podcast description I want to announce the addition of another member of the Teen Esteem Council. Her name is Brianna and, as you will find out in this podcast, she is wonderful.  Today's podcast continues our discussion of the 4 pillars (I will give anyone a $25 gift certificate if they can come up with a better term for pillars than pillars) that we started last week. This week we talk about choices. Brianna has some great insights as we discuss why teenagers choose to do some of the things that they do.

Summer and I had a marvelous opportunity to speak at the 24th Annual Conference on Child Abuse & Family Violence. We want to thank those who made the presentation possible. We also want to thank those who chose to come to our workshop on helping teen girls develop a positive self-esteem.  We had a lot of stories that we did not have time to share at the conference, so we thought that we would share some experiences that were shared with us by young women that we have worked with that have been able to develop great self esteem and create wonderful lives.

Today's podcast topic just kind of evolved. We did not intend to talk about Veteran's day, but we got going and the next thing you know, the time had been taken up. There are no regrets here about it though. Our veteran's deserve to be recognized and have earned our honor and respect. With Veteran's Day coming up we encourage all of you to thank a veteran that is part of your life.

Today we share our thoughts on the story of Taylor LeBaron. He is a 17 year old who has published a book called Cutting Myself in Half: 150 Punds Lost, One Byte at a Time. His story of losing one half of his body weight, at the age of 14 is really inspiring. Summer and I talk about some of the things that any teen can apply in their life to succeed in accomplishing the things they really want to in life. Some of the topics that we discuss are: How you self talk affects your feelings and your behavior. The difference between wanting something and making it happen and wishing for something to happen. You can read more about Taylor and his story here.

Keeping small commitments or having small personal victories is one of the quickest ways to reaise self esteem. Today we ask Rachel about this idea. She has some great insight on how making and keeping these commitments has madde a difference in her life. She talks about the importance of making both short and long term commitments and, when we mess up, giving ourselves the same breaks that we would give someone else. We want to thank Rachel for spending time with us and sharing her experience and insight on the podcast.