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Contribute to 4-H
- Helping Adolescents, Young Adults & Families
- Beginning Education Early (B.E.E.)
- Early Childhood Resources
- Family Childcare Partnerships
- Stepfamilies
- Urban Family Network: A Look at Alabama Families
- Alabama Arbor Day Poster Contest
- Alabama Junior Master Gardener
- Financial Programs
- Sports Nutrition for Young Adults
- Related Publications
- Other Resources
Upcoming Events:
- 06/01 - National Get Outdoors Day Celebration Youth Fishing Derby
- 06/03 - 4-H Skins-N-Skulls, Enterprise Public Library
- 06/04 - State 4-H Dairy Judging & Quiz Bowl Contests
- 06/04 - 4-H Skins-N-Skulls, Enterprise Public Library
- 06/11 - 4-H Tree Amigos
- 06/11 - Alabama 4-H Forestry Invitational
- 06/11 - 4-H Skins N Skulls
- 06/12 - Alabama 4-H Forestry Invitational
- 06/18 - 4-H Tree Amigos
- 06/20 - North AL District 4-H Livestock Judging Contest
Extension also offers other youth-related opportunities beyond 4-H, some of which are targeted to adults and that deal with improving parent-teen relationships and enhancing parenting skills.
Youth Related News
4-H Records Significant Increase in Membership Statewide
Alabama 4-H has hit a significant enrollment record this fall, providing youth educational programs to more than 100,000 youth statewide.... more
Alabama Youth to Celebrate Extension System; Cheer Teams This Weekend
More than 1,550 youth, volunteers and family members will be on the Auburn University campus Saturday to celebrate the Alabama... more
Tuscaloosa 4-H Forestry Team Secures Reserve National Championship
The Tuscaloosa County 4-H Judging Team, which has excelled at the national competitive level for more than 30 years, secured... more
4-H Enrollment Has Begun; Youth Find Programs Diverse; Fun
The beginning of the school year in Alabama also signals the start of the year for the state’s largest youth... more
Lawrence County’s Speake School Uses JMG Program to Teach Youth about Importance of Agriculture; Farming
Children attending Speake Elementary in rural Lawrence County are setting the bar higher for youth around the state by learning... more
Dr. Judith C. Rodrigues Is Keynote Speaker for Extension Diabetes and Childhood Obesity Conference
Judith C. Rodriguez, chair and professor in the department of Nutrition and Dietetics in the Brooks College of Health at... more
Extension Diabetes & Childhood Obesity Conference April 22-24 in Montgomery
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System will present the 11th Annual Diabetes and Childhood Obesity Conference, April 22-24 at the Embassy... more
Alabama Prosper Program Helping to Strengthen Families in Clarke County
Today's youth are overwhelmed with peer pressure and face many more invitations to engage in risky behaviors than youth of... more
Alabama 4-H Introducing Networked Learning to Safeguard U.S. Math and Science Leadership
Several years ago, popular science writer Steven Johnson set out to learn where all the great ideas that had driven... more
Communicating With Your Teen: Trust
Parenting involves allowing our children to have more responsibilities and freedoms as they grow older. Generally speaking, the goal is to let go, and letting go requires trust. Trust means, "I can count on you to be honest, to follow through on your promises, and to treat me with respect."
As teens get older they spend less time with parents and more time with friends, at work, and in other activities away from home. Since teens are spending more time in places where parents are not watching, we have to trust them to make a lot of decisions. As parents, we often worry that our teens will make poor decisions when faced with choices or situations they might not be ready to handle.
Fear is a reason that parents may not trust their sons or daughters to make some decisions. Parents may fear their teens will be unsafe while driving the car, or will try drugs, or become sexually active. Trust is a balance between the fear of what might happen with the knowledge of past decision making and responsibility taking. If a teen has always driven the car safely in the past, a parent may be willing to trust the teen to drive the car a longer distance.
Fear also can make it difficult for teens to trust their parents. Teens might fear that their parents will take away their freedom, try to control their lives, or embarrass them in front of their friends. Trust is not a one-way street. It is not only the trust you have in your teen, but also your teen's trust in you, that allows the two of you to have a positive relationship with each other. Trust between parents and teens makes it easier for teens to talk with their parents when something goes wrong. The teens must set aside the fear that the parents will be angry and they need to feel confident that regardless of what has happened, things can be worked out. more...
