So far this year, there have been at least 8 children who have died from heatstroke after being left in hot vehicles. According to CNN Money, most of these children were infants and toddlers under the age of 2.”We want to reduce the risk of these preventable deaths and help caregivers avoid accidentally harming a child, as well as address some of the misconceptions about the causes of child heatstroke in cars,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) David Strickland.

Our Highland accident attorneys understand that these kinds of accidents can happen to anyone — even the most loving and conscientious parents. We also understand that we’re seeing temperatures in the 80s during this time of year, which serves up some serious risks. Consider this a reminder to be alert and aware when exiting your vehicle to help ensure that one of these incidents doesn’t happen to you.

Within these eight fatalities recorded around the nation for 2013, seven of them happened in the month of May, which is usually when we see a spike in these numbers.

“It has everything to do with our brains letting us down at the worst possible moment,” said Janette Fennell with KidsAndCars.org.

Since 1998, there have been more than 565 children killed after being left in a vehicle in the U.S. On average, about 38 children are killed in these kinds of accidents each and every year. The risks for these incidents typically start to rise in May, which then we see an average of about four fatalities a month.

More than half of heatstroke deaths occurred when a distracted caregiver forgot a quiet child was in the vehicle.

But there are things that you can do to help to prevent these kinds of accidents:

-Make sure you check your entire vehicle before getting out and locking it up. Set something in the front seat, like a teddy bear or a picture, to help to remind you to do this.

-Consider keeping something important, like a purse or a wallet, in the backseat. This is going to help to force you to go into the back seat before leaving your vehicle.

-Teach your children that cars are not play areas. Never allow a child to play near a vehicle unattended.

-Talk with friends, family members, babysitters and other caregivers about these safety tips.

-Never leave your child alone in a vehicle for any amount of time, not matter how short it is. Never leave them in the vehicle even if you’re only “running in for a minute.” The temperature inside the vehicle can reach deadly levels in just 10 minutes.

-If you see a child that is alone in a vehicle, call 9-1-1 immediately. Try to get the child out as quickly as you can. Then undress them and lay them down in a cool area. If you’re outside in the sun, find some shade, but if at all possible, move him into a cool room.
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In a state that fails to sanction or recognize homosexual marriages, child custody cases can prove an uphill battle.The case of one Muncie mother, chronicled recently in USA Today, was no different.

In the end, though, she was successful, and our Hammond child custody lawyers want you to be confident that such outcomes are attainable – assuming you have a good attorney and you’re dedicated to putting up a fight.

The subject of the southern Indiana case is author Angela Eden, who recently penned the book, “If You Were Me: The Memoir of a Mother Torn Between What’s Right and What’s Easy.” The book takes the reader through the author’s history, which, like so many others, involves a long period spent burying the secrets of her sexuality and remaining in the closet, door firmly closed. She married a man and had children.

But in the end, her sexuality was something she ultimately couldn’t deny. She filed for divorce. Subsequently, she met, fell in love and moved in with a woman.

Her ex-husband then sought to modify custody orders by suing for sole custody of the children, demanding that they be removed immediately from her home on the basis that she was a lesbian. The husband argued that the living arrangement was harmful for the two children because they weren’t married. Of course, under Indiana law, they could not marry, and even if they did so in another state, Indiana courts wouldn’t recognize the union.

Even her lawyer doubted whether she would be successful in getting custody. His best advise, he said, was to ask her partner to move out of their home.

The primary issue in the case was not whether she was a fit mother, but focused instead on her sexuality. Her own sister testified against her, telling her in open court that she would burn in hell for her sins.

It wasn’t until a case worker completed a months-long, neutral home study that Eden’s case got a break. The case worker highlighted all of the attributes that made her a good mother, and then underscored the fact that homosexuality shouldn’t be a factor in child custody cases. She underlined that last part.

It was on this basis that the judge awarded her custody.

Of course, it’s not a decision that everyone agrees with. But it’s in the favor of homosexual couples that societal perceptions are shifting rapidly. A recent article in the Washington Post detailed how gay parenting has normalized the idea of gay marriage, particularly among younger generations.

Of course, courts aren’t always on the cutting edge of societal norms, which is why homosexual parents will continue to require a strong advocate in these custody cases.

Encouragingly, Indiana has been more progressive than others, at least historically. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled way back in 1981 that homosexuality alone is not cause to find a parent unfit. Thirteen years later, that same court rejected restrictions proposed on the activities of a lesbian mother and her partner. And then in 2002, the same court overturned a measure that would have prohibited unrelated, same-sex individuals from staying overnight in the custodial parent’s home.

These cases set a strong precedent.
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A number of popular sport utility vehicles performed very poorly on the new, tougher crash tests recently conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.Our Calumet City car accident attorneys are concerned what this will mean for those who are involved in crashes, particularly the small overlap frontal crashes that were tested under more stringent guidelines. There is a strong likelihood that drivers and front seat passengers in the vehicles that performed poorly will suffer more severe injuries than those who are in safer vehicles.

Among those models that performed poorly:

  • Hyundai Tucson;
  • Ford Escape;
  • Kia Sportage;
  • Chrysler Group’s Jeep Patriot;
  • General Motors’ Buick Encore.

The two that did well were the Misubishi Outlander Sport and the Subaru Forester.

Vehicles that earned a “marginal” rating in the test were:

  • Nissan Rogue;
  • Mazda CX-5;
  • Honda CR-V;
  • BMW X1;
  • Jeep Wrangler;
  • Volkswagon Tiguan.

In the test, researchers set up a scenario whereby the vehicle hits a barrier traveling 40 miles per hour with just one-quarter of the front bumper, with the impact occurring on the side left, just in front of the driver’s seat. What this does is concentrate the crash force in a small area that is outside the strong crash force safety structures that are routinely built in to most of the newer model vehicles on the road.

It’s an important test because about 25 percent of all serious and fatal frontal crashes are those that occur in this small overlap area, the Institute reported. On the road, the majority of these crashes happen when a vehicle, for whatever reason, leave the road and strikes a utility pole or tree. However, it’s not unheard of for these types of crashes to involve other vehicles as well.

In addition to head injuries, individuals are at risk for major foot and leg injuries in this type of a collision because what usually happens is that the front wheel of the vehicle will end up being pushed all the way back into the passenger compartment.

These crashes are also especially dangerous because in most cases, the vehicle will spin rapidly after impact. The occupant is often thrown sideways – away from portions of the vehicle that are covered by airbag protection. Additionally, the angle of the impact may result in the vehicle being contorted to the point that the airbags aren’t in the right location to protect passengers, even if they are being flung forward.

The small overlap test is one of many that the Institute performs, and the majority of vehicles did quite well in the other types of tests. General Motors and Chrysler have said that when it comes to overall safety, their two models received the “Top Safety Pick” award from the Institute.

Ford said that it will be reviewing the findings of the test to determine whether there are improvements that can be made to the current design of the vehicle.
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As motorists pack their vehicles and hit the road over this Memorial Day holiday weekend, officials with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) are reminding everyone to make sure that their seat belts are buckled. It’s all a part of Indiana’s 2013 “Click It or Ticket” enforcement campaign to get more motorists to buckle in. This effort kicks off Friday, May 24, according to The Salem Leader.Our Highland car accident attorneys understand that the “Click It or Ticket” campaign is an effort that’s supported by thousands of law enforcement agencies across the nation. In our state alone, there are close to 350 law enforcement agencies that will be participating in this year’s efforts.

During last year’s enforcement efforts (the 21-day period), officers throughout the state cited more than 18,100 drivers for not wearing a seat belt. During the same times, there were more than 150 traffic accidents and a dozen fatalities involving un-belted motorists in the state. More than 90 of these accidents involved ejections because occupants weren’t buckled in.

During the Memorial Day weekend last year, there were more than 40 accidents and 2 deaths in the state involving motorists who were not wearing seat belts. There were 30 ejections because motorists weren’t buckled. Many of these injuries and fatalities could have been prevented if more motorists had chosen to wear their seat belt.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), more than 145 people will be saved in car accidents because they wore their seat belt this weekend. Officials believe that more than 100 more could be saved if everyone were to wear their seat belt during this holiday travel period.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that more than 50 percent of the more than 21,250 passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2011 car accidents were not buckled in when the accident happened.

Fatalities among those who aren’t wearing a seat belt at the time of an accident are more common at night than during the day. As a matter of fact, the NHTSA reports that more than 60 percent of the 10,150 people who were killed in 2011 during the evening and early morning hours were not wearing a seat belt.

Unfortunately, these national statistics are alarmingly similar to the ones here in Indiana. In 2012, there were close to 3,500 accidents involving unbuckled motorists. These accidents involved close to 275 deaths. Close to 2,000 victims were ejected from their vehicle because they weren’t wearing a seat belt.

The younger motorists are the ones we’re talking to the most here. As a matter of fact, motorists between the ages of 18 and 34 are more likely to be killed in an accident than any other age group.

If there’s one thing you do this Memorial Day weekend, it should be to wear your seat belt. Whether you’re staying local or heading out of town, a seat belt can save your life!
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It’s been nearly 10 years since every state in the U.S. agreed to alter the legal definition of drunk from 0.15 percent blood-alcohol content to 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content.

Now, federal officials are urging another reduction, this time down to 0.05 percent BAC.Our Gary DUI injury lawyers are in full support of this proposal, which was made recently by the National Transportation Safety Board as one of 20 recommendations to reduce the death toll on U.S. highways.

Every year, some 10,000 people are killed in drunk driving crashes. That’s about one-third of the total number of people who die on our nation’s roads.

The board indicated that it has tried other measures in recent years to drive down those rates, but with little success. Other efforts have included bolstering law enforcement initiatives and funneling money into public advocacy and awareness campaigns. And yet, the number of DUI deaths has hovered around 10,000 since 1995. In the last 30 years, we’re talking some 440,000 lives lost.

The board predicts that lowering the legal alcohol limit will save somewhere between 500 and 800 lives each year. The reason it isn’t higher is that the majority of drunk driving deaths are caused by individuals who have BACs that are well above 0.08 percent. This has been a point of contention for opponents of the measure. However, what the opposition is failing to consider is that in addition to the number of lives saved – each of which is precious – we will be also significantly reducing the number of injuries. Not everyone involved in a DUI crash dies. Many survive, but they may suffer lifelong, debilitating injuries that require surgeries, intensive treatments, rehabilitation and medication for chronic pain and other disabilities.

Lowering the threshold is also not an obscene intrusion. First of all, 100 other countries in the world have already adopted the 0.05 percent rate, including most of Europe. Secondly, consider that the average, 180-pound male will usually not hit the 0.08 percent limit until he’s had about four drinks in a little over an hour. By contrast, under the new limit, he would only be able to indulge in two or three. So this argument that someone couldn’t have a glass of wine with dinner simply doesn’t hold water.

Research has shown that the majority of drivers are going to experience a decline in both visual and cognitive functions once their BAC tops 0.05 percent.

It’s also an important measure in light of the recent ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against police with regard to warrantless blood draws in DUI cases. In that case, Missouri v. McNeely, the court found that in order to take a blood sample from a suspected drunk driver, an officer would first have to obtain a warrant from a judge. Because alcohol dissipates quickly from a person’s system, every minute may be valuable to the case. If we are going to bolster the protections for drunk drivers, we should also do the same for their victims.

The NTSB’s recommendations, however, won’t automatically become law. It’s an independent agency that is influential on matters of public safety, but it will require the support of Congress and state legislators to actually implement such a measure.
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A recent report from the Associated Press contends that 1 out of every 20 patients who enter a hospital will pick up an infection they didn’t have before they arrived.The rates are higher for those who undergo surgery or some form of intensive treatment requiring intravenous lines.

Our medical malpractice attorneys know that while some hospitals and hospital staffers place reducing infections high on the priority list, many still aren’t doing enough to prevent hospital-acquired illnesses. We’re not talking a simple cough or cold. We’re talking bloodstream infections or superbug viruses that can lead to serious illness and even death.

Bloodstream infections, introduced primarily through intravenous catheters used to deliver nutrition, fluids or medication, account for about 15 percent of all hospital-acquired infections and account for 30 percent of the approximately 100,000 yearly hospital-related deaths. Even for those who do survive such an infection, recovery usually means weeks or months of intensive treatment and brutal side effects.

For a long time, physicians and hospital administrators considered these type of infections, known as central line infections, to be a simply unavoidable risk for those receiving intensive care treatment. However, there has been research showing that infections rates can be reduced to nearly zero by rigorously following a checklist that involves simple sanitary procedures. The proof of this is in the 13 percent of reporting hospitals in the country that have zero central line infection rates. (This is only 138 of 1,068 hospitals that report their infection rates to state authorities; Indiana has no hospitals on that list.)

But this isn’t the only problem. Bacterial and viral “suberbugs” have been gaining intense coverage as of late, for the fact that hospitals are having a difficult time purging their facilities of hard-to-fight germs.

Many hospitals have turned to state-of-the-art approaches to help fight these type of infections, including robots that emit hydrogen peroxide vapors or ultraviolet light. They’re also purchasing antimicrobial linens, wall paint and curtains and providing call buttons, IV polls and bed rails that are made from germ-resistant copper.

The benefits of all of this are debatable, though those making the effort are to be commended. However, all of this may be in no small part due to the fact that insurance companies and in some cases even Medicare are declining to pay bills for treatment of hospital-acquired infections. That doesn’t mean patients won’t be treated, but it means the hospital becomes responsible for those bills. So suddenly, instead of financially benefiting when patients are forced to stay in treatment longer than intended, hospitals will be losing money. That gives them a real incentive to fight back aggressively.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that hospital-acquired infections result in an additional $30 billion each year in U.S. medical costs.

In addition to central line infections, another bug that is receiving a lot of attention recently is C-diff. This diarrhea-causing infection has been linked to some 14,000 deaths each year, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. While this is easier to treat than some other types of hospital infections, like MRSA, it’s tough to clean away on hospital surfaces. Those facilities that aren’t meeting the minimal standards for sanitation have seen a major spike in C-diff cases.
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Our Hammond divorce lawyers have become familiar with an advocacy group that is essentially seeking to make divorces in this country more difficult to obtain.

Citing the negative impacts of divorce and the damage that it can cause to children, the Coalition for Divorce Reform has pushed for legislation – most recently in Georgia and North Carolina – that would increase divorce waiting periods, mandate family counseling and eliminate laws that require divorcing couples to live apart.While not every element of these measures is necessarily bad, and in fact could benefit some families, our divorce attorneys worry that such provisions don’t take into account situations where a quick resolution is not only desirable, but necessary.

A perfect example would be in a case of domestic violence or other abuse. Of course, the North Carolina legislation allowed for exceptions to the waiting period and counseling requirement in cases of physical abuse, but that assumes the victim was one of those who actually called and reported it to police. Most don’t. And it also doesn’t account for verbal and emotional abuse, which can be equally damaging.

Another example would be one in which there has been infidelity. In these cases, even when it’s painful, people often know from the very beginning that, “It’s over,” and there is no point in dragging it out.

In a lot of divorces, the marriage has not been working for some time. Both spouses and even the children may be fully aware, and even accepting of it. Making the process take longer ends up benefiting no one, and simply makes it harder for everyone to move on.

In Georgia, House Bill 684 would not apply to couples who were childless. It would apply only to those with at least one child more than six months shy of their 17th birthday or couples who are expecting. In those cases, parents would be mandated to participate in eight-hour parenting classes and counseling sessions. The measure would also lengthen the waiting time for a divorce.

Exceptions would be made in certain cases, such as when the couple has been living apart for five years or more, or when one partner is serving a prison sentence.

However, these measures don’t account for the fact that every divorce – just like every marriage – is a bit different, and that what works for one family may be harmful to another. Forcing people to try to work it out first isn’t the answer. We have to trust that if an adult has decided to walk away from a marriage, he or she must have a good reason for doing so. And even if they do not, it is their prerogative. They will still have to abide by the laws governing child support and other financial obligations. But beyond that, we should not be using legislation to force people to repair emotional bonds.

In Indiana, assuming at least one spouse meets the residency requirement, there is a 60-day waiting period after the divorce is filed before the proceedings can continue and the divorce can be finalized.

Of course, many divorces end up taking longer than that anyway because there are often many ties to be untangled in the course of a separation.

Making couples wait any longer is not only unnecessary, it’s unfair.
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A recent story in London’s The Telegraph detailed how the rise of internet dating had resulted in a 40 percent spike in 2012 in the number of international child custody cases in Britain.Our Gary child custody lawyers have noted this phenomenon as well, though more commonly with regard to interstate disputes.

Internet dating has allowed people who might never have otherwise met or come in contact to form deep connections over long distances. However, people often retain their connections to home, even if they end up later moving to be with their new spouse.

If things don’t work out, one spouse or the other will often return to where he or she has a support system.

But it should be no surprise that different states have different laws when it comes to almost everything about divorce and child custody.

Families in these situations often find themselves grappling with the added frustration of working out complicated and costly visitations and shared parenting arrangements. Even those divorced couples who consider themselves fairly amicable can find themselves at a breaking point when trying to hammer out these issues long-distance and often without the benefit of face-to-face communication.

So how are these disputes resolved?

A lot of it will depend on which state is given jurisdiction in the matter.

For an answer to how that process works, we look to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, which was drafted in 1997 and has since been adopted by 49 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. (The only state that has yet to adopt the measure is Massachusetts.) The 1997 legislation replaces any prior legislation, which was found to be inconsistent with the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act with regard to determination of initial child custody.

Part of the reason this legislation was enacted was because courts were finding that parents were willing to move their child around from state-to-state if it appeared the custody case were not going in their favor. They would then file again in a different state, where they hoped to find a more sympathetic ear. They were often successful.

But this was not fair to the child, nor the other parent or the court system, which was being bogged down with these cases.

In interstate custody battles, the child’s home state will be the one that will be allowed to exercise jurisdiction in the child custody case.

So if a mother files her petition for custody in Indiana, where the child lives at the time of the petition, any other state is going to lack jurisdiction to handle that same case. Let’s say that same mother and child move to Ohio, and then she files her petition within less than six months of that move. The home state is still going to be considered Indiana, and she will have to file her petition here, or else wait six months or more.

Because of the UCCJA, this will be true pretty much regardless of where you move in the U.S.

In one case, for example, both spouses lived in Texas for a number of years until the mother moved to Washington State. She filed her child custody petition there five months later, but it was denied because she hadn’t lived there at least six months. The father then filed his custody petition more than six months after his wife and child had moved to Washington. The court ruled that Texas would not be considered the home state of the child at that point, because he hadn’t lived in Texas for six consecutive months prior to the petition.

As you can see, timing may be critical in these cases, which is why the sooner you meet with a child custody lawyer, the more strategic you can be in planning your petition and/or response.

It’s also worth noting that the state can deny jurisdiction if one parent or the other has acted unjustly. Some examples might be domestic violence, concealing the whereabouts of a child/parental kidnapping, violating an existing court order or lying in sworn declarations.

Now let’s say it turns out there is no home state for the child. He or she has lived on a military base or has moved around a great deal in the last several years. In these cases, the court will be charged with determining the state that will be the most convenient for all parties involved. Some of the things that might be considered would be location of medical and school records, witnesses, documents, child protective services investigative reports and how familiar each court may be with the issues and facts in the pending case.
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Underride accidents are a type of accident that occurs only with large trucks. Our Highland truck accident attorneys have discussed the dangers of underride accidents in the past, in response to an Indiana Tractor Trailer accident in which a 56-year-old Indiana man sustained injuries after his car wedged underneath a tractor trailer.

Unfortunately, this accident was not an isolated incident and underride accidents are a far-too-common occurrence in Indiana and throughout the United States.The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has, in the past, made recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) intended to reduce the number of underride wrecks or even to eliminate them entirely. Unfortunately, NHTSA has not made the recommended changes to regulations fpr trailers and large trucks. Now, even as the prior problems have not been corrected, IIHS has released a new alert indicating that recent crash tests have raised the possibility of additional underride accident risks.

IIHS Concerned About Underride Accidents
Underride accidents happen when a car gets wedged underneath a large truck or tractor-trailer. Obviously, when this occurs, the top of the car can get crushed and serious injuries can be suffered including injury to the head and neck.

Preventing these type of accidents should be a top priority and there are regulations in place designed to prevent cars from being pushed underneath trucks. For example, the majority of semitrailers are required to have underride guards installed. These guards consist of steel bars that hang down from the back of trucks and stop cars from going underneath.

IIHS’s past criticism of the regulations related to underride prevention center around the fact that the guards are often not strong enough and not large enough. Because the bars were not sufficient to stop cars from sliding underneath, IIHS made recommendations to NHTSA suggesting that the regulations quality of the guards be improved. IIHS also requested that NHTSA expand the types of large trucks the regulations apply to by making it mandatory for more trucks to have guards. For example, dump trucks aren’t currently required to have these underride prevention bars and IIHS has suggested that they should be required to come into compliance.

Unfortunately, NHTSA has not yet passed tougher regulations. And now, IIHS crash tests reveal a high risk of underride accidents when a passenger car hits the back side of a truck. The bars, in other words, prevent the car from slipping underneath the truck if the car hits the center rear. But when a car strikes the side, on the other hand, there is no protection to prevent an underride accident. Since cars often hit from the side if they are trying to swerve out of the way to avoid a crash, this is a serious problem.

In light of the new crash test information from IIHS, hopefully NHTSA will be prompted to take action both to address the past concerns and to address the new safety risk revealed by the recent IIHS crash tests.
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This might be the most memorable time of your teen’s life. We’re talking about prom and graduation season. While one of the best times, it can also be one of the most dangerous. That’s why officials with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are here to help parents and guardians to address these risks with the young drivers in their family.Our Highland accident lawyers understand that reasonable judgment is one of the first things to go when we consume alcohol. If you’ve seen someone drink, then you’ve probably seen it firsthand. Our teens are on top of this list. They’re more likely to get into fights, they’re more likely to have unprotected sex and they’re more likely to drive drunk or to get into the car with a drunk driver.

According to USA TODAY, motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death among U.S. teens ages 16 to 19. They may not be old enough to drink legally, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t get their hands on it and it definitely doesn’t mean that they won’t drink. Make sure they know the dangers associated with alcohol before they’re put into that position.

To help to get this conversation started, use PowerTalk 21 day. That’s a day, April 21st, that was dedicated as the national day for parents to talk to teens about alcohol. It was created by officials with MADD to jump start the conversation. It all goes along with Alcohol Awareness Month, which takes place throughout the entire month of April.

It’s a pretty serious situation. As a matter of fact teenagers are more likely to drink in excess than any other age group. They’re more likely to have both blackouts and brownouts. A blackout is when your brain completely stops recording new memories, so forget about prom night. A brownout is when you have lapses in your memory.

When you pair these memory loses with alcohol’s influence on bad decisions, you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

To help your teen, make sure you talk with them about the risks associated with drinking and driving. This scenario kills more than 10,000 people annually. And these are accidents that can be prevented — completely. Make sure you’re talking with your teen about the different choices they have as a responsible adult. Talk with the about scenarios that they might be presented with and practice with them the safe and responsible ways to deal with those situations.

Make sure your teen feels comfortable calling you if they need a ride home. There may come the time in their life when their peers are drinking and driving, and you want them to feel comfortable enough to call you for help. You want to offer a helping hand, not scold them for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It’s also a good idea for you to talk to parents of kids with whom your teen spends time. Make sure everyone in the circle is one the same page.
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