Hello, friend,
Today’s issue of Sisters From AARP delivers something a bit different from the mix of entertainment, style, personal finance and personal fulfillment stories that you enjoy every Tuesday. We’ll return to our regularly featured stories and content celebrating Black women next week.
But this week only, we’re participating in an initiative that started as a passionate conversation among a few of my AARP editorial coworkers, and that now crisscrosses the nationwide organization.
This month’s AARP Bulletin introduces a special report, “Our Kids in Crisis,” that spans multiple AARP content channels, including Sisters. As the mother of two teenage boys and auntie of a teen girl, I know that this project creates a much-needed space for conversation about looking out for our youth.
This month’s AARP Bulletin introduces a special report, ‘Our Kids in Crisis,’ that spans multiple AARP content channels, including Sisters. As the mother of two teenage boys and auntie of a teen girl, I know that this project creates a much-needed space for conversation about looking out for our youth.
AARP editors asked reporters across America to find personal stories and expert insights that together would reveal the depth and breadth of the challenges facing teens and their families.
Here at sistersletter.com, you’ll find these stories and more:
- A mother and son discuss rising drug and alcohol use among his classmates.
- A high school senior who was named valedictorian has her big day upended when suddenly forced to share the honor with a white student.
- A yoga teacher at an HBCU discovers her students are seeking relief from anxiety, depression and burnout.
In addition to the AARP Bulletin, which those of you who are AARP members are now receiving in the mail, digital issues of the Bulletin are available to members via the AARP Publications app (go to aarp.org/mobile for details). Find more coverage there, including reports from a high school principal, a clergy member and a college dean.
Members and nonmembers can go to AARP Online for professional resources and guidance for helping the teens in our lives. Go to aarp.org/teens-and-mental-health/ Stories include:
- Cellphone addiction, changing pronouns, being “canceled”: a panel of professionals helps parents and teens navigate these and other topics
- Seven ways loved ones can fight back against teen cyberbullying
- Tactics for keeping teens safe from cyber predators and online scams
The Girlfriend, AARP’s online community for women in their 40s and 50s, devotes its Sept. 8 newsletter to reports from moms dealing with teen issues. Read these and other stories at thegirlfriend.com:
- How a family took action when a son got caught in a sexploitation scam
- One daughter’s inspiring journey from low self-esteem to confidence
- The evolution of a son’s growing anxiety following a shooting at his high school
The fathers are having their say, too, at aarparrow.com. The Arrow, AARP’s online community for men in their 40s and 50s, explores:
- A father’s conversation with his daughter about her attempts at suicide
- The repercussions of one son’s social media mistake
- “This is 13”: Three teenagers from vastly different parts of the country tell parents what they think
There’s much more to explore, brought to you by my colleagues producing for The Ethel (aarpethel.com), AARP Studios (YouTube.com/aarp), Instagram (Instagram.com/aarp) and AARP’s Virtual Community Center (aarp.org/vcc).
Don’t forget to share your thoughts with our Sisters community on Facebook (@thesistersletter), or drop me an email at sistersletter@aarp.org.
Appreciate you, sis.
Claire
