New Worry for Parents: Teens Sniff Trendy Product for Huffing High

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One of the most popular body sprays for teenage boys may be used for more than body odor. In fact, some kids like the smell of AXE Body Spray so much they are inhaling it to get high. “Many parents don’t question a body spray inhalant if kids are huffing because many parents have the scent around them,” said Colleen Creighton from inhalant.org. Message boards on the Internet are buzzing with questions from parents and teens about this trend.  Some people on Facebook and other websites share instructions on how to use AXE to get high.  Users may soak a towel or a shirt sleeve and breathe it in, while others may spray it directly into their mouths. Body sprays like AXE are cheap and sold everywhere.  By contrast, Georgia regulates the sale of model glue to anyone under the age of 18.

Conyers Police Plan Zero Tolerance Crackdown at Big Teen Parties

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Two teenagers have died at large house parties that got violent with little warning in the last week.  The latest, in Conyers, Ga., where 18-year old Dequavious Mapp  was shot in the chest and died early Sunday morning.  One week earlier, 18-year old Bobby Tillman was beaten to death at a house party in Douglas County. Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson has a new plan to break up parties that get out of control before someone gets hurt.  “I spoke to the sheriff and my staff.

Another Teen Killed at House Party

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For the second time in a week, a teenager was killed at a house party in the Atlanta area. 18-year-old Daquavious Stephon Mapp was apparently caught in the crossfire of a firefight between other teenage boys. James Edwards and Tevin Williams, both 17, are charged with aggravated assault and gun charges. Police aren’t sure whose bullet killed Mapp, according the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Estimates vary widely, but most accounts say 75 kids were at a party in Conyers, Ga.

Mom of Teen Beaten to Death Calls for Change in Juvenile Justice System

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The mother of 18-year-old Bobby Tillman, who was beaten to death after a house party early Sunday morning, is lobbying for tougher juvenile laws. Monique Rivarde tells WXIA she will campaign for a new law named after her son requiring mandatory counseling for teen offenders with tougher punishment for kids who keep getting in trouble. As for the four teens charged with murdering her son, she feels that it’s too late for them. In the wake of Tillman’s murder, more than 600 people attended a teen summit Thursday night in Douglassville to discuss ways to stop senseless violence in the community. The crowd included high school and college age kids along with school and law enforcement officials, according to the AJC.

Fighting Cyber Bullying: Cobb Couple Counsels Kids and Families

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A Cobb County couple will be among dozens of esteemed experts sharing their cyber bullying expertise next week at an international conference in Seattle sponsored by the Microsoft Corporation. Author and Cobb County Schools prevention specialist Patricia Agatston and her husband Andrew, a Marietta-based attorney, are taking part in the Seventh Annual Conference of the International Bullying Prevention Association November 15 – 17.  The parents of two teenage boys will join panelists who hail from across the country and around the globe. Mrs. Agatston, a certified trainer and consultant for a bullying prevention program is a fixture on the cyber bullying speakers circuit and is regularly featured in local and national media discussing high-risk youth behavior online. “The main thing I want to get across is that addressing a bullying problem at school requires taking a very systemic approach,” says Mrs. Agatston, co-author of the book, Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age, and author of two curricula on cyber bullying for Cobb schools.

Update: Hyper-Texting Teens Linked to Sex, Stress, Binge Drinking

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Some teenagers who text more than 120 times a day and spend hours using social media may be more likely to have sex, drink a lot, smoke and feel more stress.  Researchers at Case Western Reserve University are studying the link between heavy use of communication technology and risky behavior that can affect kids’ health. Dr. Scott Frank presented a study at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Denver.  Dr. Frank teaches at Case, he’s a family physician, director of a local health department and a substance abuse prevention group.  He surveyed 4,257 teenagers at 20 high schools in the Cleveland Ohio area. Click here to read the abstract. Click here for the full study.

Teens Join "X the Text" Campaign in Kennesaw

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Students and teachers at North Cobb High School are pledging not to text while driving.  They gathered around the wreckage of a car, brought to the campus Monday, to drive home the dangers. While Georgia and other states have banned texting behind the wheel, a Pew study estimates that 26%  of American teens nationwide are sending text messages while they drive.  Watch the story from MyFoxAtlanta:

Students in Kennesaw are part of a campaign initiated by Allstate Insurance Company called "X the Text."   The company has created a teen driver pledge page, and some interesting statistics about texting while driving:

It takes your eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds
It’s like driving after 4 beers
It makes you 23 times more likely to crash

Allstate has also enlisted the Jonas Brothers to spread the word on YouTube:

Facebook Application Targets Cyberbullying

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A new “Find Help” application on Facebook may make it easier for teens to not only report cyberbullying but also to find support organizations. Mashable.com reports that a company called SafetyWeb.com,has introduced the new app to address growing concerns about teen safety on the social networking site. According to CBC news, the “Find Help” application is similar to an online list of emergency phone numbers. When a child clicks on the application, he or she is directed to phone numbers and links for reporting incidents. This also sends kids to organizations like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and Facebook’s abuse reporting process. Since 2003 there have been at least 12 teenagers who commited suicide because they had been bullied online.

Can You Sue a 4 year old? Yes, You Can.

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The New York Supreme court has redefined the legal age of accountability. This comes from an October 1, 2010 ruling from Justice Paul Wooten who determined that it is possible for a 4 year old to be negligent. As a result, there is a negligence suit against a 4 year old child. The details are laid out in the New York Times,

Two years ago Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn, both four at the time, were racing their bicycles on a sidewalk. The bicycles had training wheels. Juliet ran into an 87 year-old woman, resulting in a hip fracture that required surgery. Three weeks later, the woman died.

Forsyth County Most Aggressive in Fighting Teen Sexting

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There have been at least 10 sexting cases in the Forsyth County school system over the past four years. This is what drives sheriff’s investigator Jeff Roe in his campaign against sexting and Internet based sex crime among teens, according to the AJC. He visits schools with a blunt message: kids have committed suicide after being exposed on the Internet and in picture text messages. He urges students to take the problem seriously by not participating in any form of sexting, explicit text messaging or sharing of lewd images online. Is the reach out to the community working?