Shains Fashion Accessories from Shainsware are the perfect gift for tween girls, or even any girl over the age of five through older teens. Shains are all made out of recycled materials and allow the users to customize their accessories with messages, which can be changed at any time.

Shains has a variety of accessory products including bracelets, belts, necklaces, hair accessories, key clips, pet collars, bookmarks, starter kits and theme kits. The fun comes from adding elements to the accessory to create a message. The elements, which are also made of recycled material are letters, numbers or icons that can be interchanged on each of the accessories.

Shains has won numerous awards by leading parent websites and magazines and it is easy for me to see why. Tween girls love to accessorize and to create something a little unique. The green factor is very cool and they can express themselves. If you want to feel even better about buy a Shains fashion accessory for your tween daughter, you may like knowing that Shains donates a percentage of its sales to various environmental causes, including the Jane Goodall Institute.

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Ford Motor Company held a trends conference last week in Dearborn, Michigan inviting journalist, bloggers, thought leaders and experts. Among the speakers at "Forward with Ford 2011" were author Malcolm Gladwell, actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. and Pandora founder Tim Westergren.

I was lucky enough to attend this amazing event thrown by Ford thanks to Beth Feldman of RoleMommy. I attended in her place and I am writing an overview of the event on the Rolemommy blog. However, here on Connect with your Teens, I am covering, in greater depth, the areas of the Ford conference dealing with teenagers and safety, the aging population, and music. I also plan on writing another post just on Malcolm Gladwell and his keynote.

Teenagers and Safety
When my sons began driving, I was a nervous wreck. However there wasn't much I could do other than hope that they listened to all my advice. If the MyKey technology that is currently available in most Fords and Lincolns was available then, my kids would have been driving one of those cars. MyKey allows parents to program a key to:

• Limit the car's top speed and audio volume!
• Mute the car's audio until the seat belt's are buckled
• Have the low-fuel warning come on at 75 miles to empty instead of the standard 50
• Speed alert chimes can be set up at 45, 55 and 65 mph

In addition to the MyKey program, Ford has a website set up for families called Driving Skills For Life where newly licensed teens can improve their skills for safe driving beyond what they learn in driver education programs. There is a section for parents with tips on how you can help your teens. The most important thing you can do is be a good role model.

Even more important, Ford SYNC, enables drivers to do almost anything in their car with voice commands, so that they can leave their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. It includes hands-free, calling, texting, 911 assist, activation of your digital music player and much more. It is multilingual and also delivers voice activated traffic and directions. While all of this is great for people of all ages, teens tend to get into the most trouble with their incessant texting and song switching.

Baby Boomers, Aging and Seniors

As the baby boomers are reaching their senior years, our senior population is becoming the largest we have ever known, by far. Gary Strumolo, Manager, Vehicle Design and Infotronics spoke on this issue and said "As you get older, the possible loss of that driving capability is equated with the removal of freedom so what we can do to try to help older people to continue to drive is important to them because it really equates to a loss of freedom if they can't do that." Here are some of the measures that Ford is taking to help the aging:

• Multi-contour seats, with a gentle rocking motion to avoid blood build-up in the rear.
• An easy fuel filter for arthritic fingers.
• Engineers work in third-age suits (pictured on right) which mimic the restrictions on movement that many seniors have.
• Connecting mobile health services from the web through bluetooth with SYNC so that it can monitor your glucose or diabetes.
• Ford vehicles will feature wider bolder fonts within vehicle controls and interface screens for easier legibility for older eyes (I can definitely use this one).

Music
On our second night with Ford, we went into downtown Detroit to the Fillmore. We heard a great talk about the future of music from Tim Westergren of Pandora, Ty Roberts of Gracenote and Bob Struble of iBiquity Digital. Hands free Sync also uses something called AppLink which allows you to link certain apps to SYNC and use them in your car hands free. Pandora is one of those apps.

After the talk, we were treated to a concert by a fairly new indie band from Seattle, The Head and The Heart. They were very good and hearing them on the legendary Fillmore stage was great fun. I think this is a band that both teenagers and adults would enjoy.

Forward with Ford 2011 conclusion
I was extremely impressed with everything I saw at Forward with Ford 2011. From the speakers to the safety technology to the advancements they are making to help seniors and the environment; I was constantly amazed.

Full Disclosure: Ford paid for my transportation, hotel and all my expenses during this 2-day conference.

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Although e-books have recently become an extremely popular form of reading, very often outselling print books, J.K. Rowling has thus far refused to digitize her best-selling and hugely adored Harry Potter series of novels. However,she has changed her mind and recently created a new website, Pottermore, launching in October, which will be the only place to buy the new e-books, and will be home to much, much more.

Watch and listen to J.K. Rowlings announcement of Pottermore here:


I can't wait for this new adventure. Even though J.K. Rowling will not be writing any more Harry Potter books, the interactive features of Pottermore will give fans the thrill of new Harry Potter adventures. Thank you J.K. Rowling for offering families even more ways that your wonderful series can help families connect.

See also: 
J.K. Rowling Bio Lifetime Movie Review
Harry Potter London and NYC Premieres Live Streaming

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Thank you to BING Social Search for sponsoring my post about social media. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

1. Professionally
I began blogging in March of 2008. I could have posted thousands of articles, but if it wasn't for social media, I doubt anyone but a few friends and family members would ever have read them. However, by submitting links to social media sites and meeting people and networking online, my blog grew a readership, moved up in search engine rankings and is read by thousands.

2. Old Friends
Once Facebook became popular with adults, I became reacquainted with many of my old high school friends, most of whom I hadn't talked to in years. In fact, earlier this year, five of us met up for a weekend reunion.

3. News
Instead of going to individual news websites for my online news, I find almost all my news from social media sites. By following the people that I have selected to follow, I am likely to find links to articles I would be interested in on all these sites. I happen to love technology and entertainment news. I get streams of both on my social networks.

4. Online discussions
The ability to discuss topics through bulletin boards and blog commenting has brought certain topics more alive for me. The best example was the television show Lost. Lost would not have been the same experience had it been on the air before social media. The online discussions were one of the best parts of being a Lost fan.

5. Meeting new people in person
Social media isn't only about being online. It very often leads to actual in-person meetups. I started using social media right after I moved from the suburbs to NYC and didn't have many friends nearby. Through Tweetups, blogger lunches and conferences, and various other events I have met many social media users, some of which I have gotten to know very well.

My sons often ask me how I lived before the Internet. I tell them that I didn't know what I was missing. But one thing I do know, I couldn't live without the Internet or social media from this point forward.

See also:   
LiveOn Stores Memories Forever 
Wikets App Rewards Social Recommendations
Misconceptions About Foursquare
Why and How to Use StumbleUpon

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Here are 10 very interesting articles from the past week dealing with entertainment, technology, education or a mixture of the above. 

1. NPR - Did Conan O'Brien Give 'The Greatest Commencement Speech Ever?'  Includes link to full video and 4-minute long video of the highlights.

2. MindShift:How We Learn - Five Reasons Why Video Games Power Up Learning  A teacher writes about how video games are a powerful tool for learning.

3. TV|Line - Glee Boss Confirms Graduation Plan (Whom Will You Miss Most?), Blasts 'Recast' Rumor  Original students will graduate next May.

4. The Online Mom - How to Extend the Battery Life of Your Smartphone

5. GeekDad - Top 10 Dads in Science Fiction and Fantasy  Originally published last year and was re-posted for Father's Day.

6. Radical Parenting - Five Summer Beach Reads for Teen Girls

7. Google Tutor - Google Launches Me On the Web Feature to help You Monitor Your Online Reputation

8. Pew Research Center: The Databank - Purpose of College Education  The American public is split on the main purpose of a college education.

9. Popgadget - 3D glasses get stylish

10. Entertainment Weekly - Tony Awards: 13 Moments We Loved  Slideshow

Which was your favorite. If you had a favorite article from this past week, please share in the comments.

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Once again the folks at O'Reilly Media have come up with an extremely useful new title. A new edition to the "Take Control of" line of books, Take Control of Media on Your iPad (2011) by Jeff Carlson, helps you enjoy all the media you possibly can on your iPad.

Take Control of Your Media will teach you everything you need to know about the iPad's main types of media - ebooks, music, videos and photos. Not only will you learn about the apple apps such as iBooks, iTunes and the iPod, but many third-party apps also. (Your teens can probably do this with their eyes shut, show them that you can also).

As someone who adores organization, I absolutely love the way this book is laid out. Two of my favorite things about the book are:

1. Right after the introduction, there is a "Quick Start" chapter which not only briefly summarizes each chapter, but also supplies links to all key lessons, so that if you are looking to learn a specific thing, you can find it here and then go directly to it.
2. The "Mind Your Media" chapter which gives an overview of all the ways of moving media from your computer to your iPad so that when you get to the chapters with specific types of media you will have already had this introduction.

In addition to finding out all the apps and what you need to know about reading books, magazines or comics, listening to music or other audio, watching video or viewing photos, Take Control of Media on Your iPad has a few other cool lessons. If you would like to learn how to turn your iPad into a remote control or integrate your iPad with your Apple TV, this book will walk you through it (I bet your teens can't even do this). Why not enjoy your iPad or iPad2 to the fullest?

See also: LiveOn Stores Memories Forever 
 

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Below is a game review video from the game guy, Eric Szabo, the ultimate Game Guru. In addition to helping parents find games, he also provides tips for teachers on how to tweak games to fit lesson plans and adapt them to the classroom.

The Game Guy is reviewing the game Ruckus in this month's video. The game of takes & double takes! Accumulating sets is the name of the game, but holding onto them is the trick.  With players matching and stealing faster than you can yell "Ruckus," it's anybody's game until the end. Fast family fun abounds in this 5 minutes and under game. Watch the review here:



Ruckus is great for all ages from 7 and up. Just right for families with tweens and teens.

See also: 10 Games for Teens from Toy Fair 2011

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With the huge proliferation of Young Adult novels in recent years, I sometimes forget that teenagers also enjoy reading fun nonfiction books. While attending Book Expo 2011 last month, I came across a few fun books, coming this fall, that  teens and or tweens should enjoy.

1. When Parents Text: So Much Said...So Little Understood - A collection of funny texts from the website, When Parents Text, a blog dedicated to the trials and error that come when a parent handles a cellphone and when they have trouble letting go of their kids. (Workman Publishing, September 2011)

2. The RecordSetter Book of World Records: 300 + Extraordinary Feats by Ordinary People - More than 300 of the longest, loudest, slowest, weirdest, coolest, and most difficult to break records ever recorded. Includes the fastest time to burp the alphabet, most bananas fit inside a pair of pants and most Big Lebowski catchphrases recited in one minute. (Workman Publishing, October 2011)

3.  Zombie Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Survive the Outbreak - Humor book written as a government zombie survival manual gives you vital information on how to stay alive in this hostile environment. Includes information on assembling a survival kit and how to re-kill zombies. (guffaw press, October 2011)

4. Lonely Planet Not For Parents Travel Series - A unique new series of travel books made for kids ages 8 and up. Finally tweens can take part in planning vacations and learn about the places they are going in a fun way. Currently, the 5 books in the series are New York, Rome, Paris, London and the Not For Parents Travel Book, which contains trivia and stats about every country in the world. (Lonely Planet, September 2011)

Stay tuned for recommendations on new fall Young Adult novels being released fall of 2011.

See also:  
Best Books for Teens for Holiday Gifts 2011
Pop Culture Toys Tastes and Trends of 70s and 80s 
18 New YA Books for Teens in 2011

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The Unigo Expert Network is a group of top education experts from across the US answering questions submitted by students and parents about college admissions and succeeding after high school.

“My brother keeps telling me that I should consider size as I start applying to schools but I’m not sold – what makes a school large or small, and what are some of the more subtle advantages/disadvantages of both?”– John W., Portland, OR

A: Size does matter

Students should consider the size of the colleges or universities that they would like to attend. Smaller schools tend to have fewer degree choices, fewer courses, fewer professors and fewer student activities. Smaller schools also tend to have better (lower) student to faculty ratios and it’s generally easier to connect with classmates. Larger colleges have broader choices in regards to classes, scheduling and professors and more student activities to choose from. However, some students may feel lost in large schools they don’t recognize anyone in their classes. Students should carefully weigh the size of their selected colleges carefully to determine the right “fit” for them.

●        Jolyn Brand— Founder & Director - Brand College Consulting

                

A student population of 10,000 at one college could feel much more manageable than a student population of 10,000 at another college because of other variables such as a college’s advising system, average class size, or campus environment and location. With this in mind, the sooner you start visiting college campuses, the sooner you will be able to determine the ideal combination of characteristics that your college campus should possess. While size is important to some applicants, others don’t prefer big, medium, or small because to them other factors are far more important.

●        Craig Meister—President - Tactical College Consulting

A: Many small campuses have deceptively vast resources and opportunities

Attributing campus size to available resources might prove deceptive. Pomona College, for example, has only 1,500 undergraduates, smaller than many high schools. Yet, as part of the Claremont College Consortium, containing 5 undergraduate and 2 graduate schools, Pomona has a 2,500-seat concert hall, numerous art studios, interscholastic athletic teams, and a 1.9 million-volume library. Pomona students can cross register for over 2,500 different courses, study abroad, participate in exchange programs with Swarthmore College, or a 3-2 engineering program with Cal Tech. Consequently, it pays to investigate a college regardless of size. You might find vast resources among small dimensions.

●        Ralph Becker– Owner & Director - Ivy College Prep LLC

Don’t miss answers by the Dean of Admissions at University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan University, and more – at www.unigo.com/expertnetwork.  To send your question to our experts, visit www.unigo.com/expertquestions

See also:  
Should Rankings Matter in College Selection? 
Over 700 Unique Lists about College 
SuperFutures Offers Teens Online Guidance Counselors

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On Sunday night, June 19 at 9/8c, Steven Spielberg's epic new science fiction TV series will premiere on TNT with a 2-hour episode. Falling Skies begins six months after an alien attack has left most of our world completely incapacitated. The series is about the battle between the remaining humans and the mysterious alien force.

In an interesting similarity to Lost, the aliens are capturing the children, for reasons unknown to the human survivors. Each day is a test of survival as the survivors try to gain intelligence about the aliens in hopes of one day overtaking them.

Watch the newest trailer for Falling Skies (1:00)


Noah Wyle (ER) stars as a Boston history professor whose wife has been killed and one of his three sons has been captured. He becomes one of the leaders of a resistance group, 2nd Mass, with his extensive knowledge of military history.

Comic book fans can read the Falling skies Web comic on the TNT website. Written by Paul Tobin and illustrated by Juan Ferreyra, the Falling Skies Web Comic will bridge the gap between the 12-page Falling Skies comic released at New York Comic Con. There will be a new chapter every two weeks.  If you are interested in interacting with the characters of Falling Skies, there is a Falling Skies microsite and a 2nd Mass (Mass is for Massachusetts, where the resistance group is) website.

I don't know about you, but I am very excited to watch this new summer series by Dreamworks. I also think that with all the mysteries surrounding the aliens, Falling Skies should be a television series ripe for discussion, which makes it a great show for parents and teens to connect over. Will your family be watching.

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Even though teenagers all want to fit in, they still want to stand out a little. As my 15 year old intern wrote yesterday in her post, Teenage Girls and Fashion, "We all want to have our own look. We all want to be remembered" MusicSkins is a fun way for teens or anybody to dress up and personalize their iPods, cell phones, laptops, or any other devices they have.

What is a Skin?
A skin is a sticker like protective covering that leave no residue when peeled off. They are thin enough that they can still be used with other cases and docks. The skins are made of 3M vinyl, so they protect your device from all scratches, and they are removable so you can switch to a new skin at any time.

MusicSkins for Teens
MusicSkins offers skins related to music, television, art, fashion and pop culture. When offered a skin to review, I selected a South Park skin for the iPhone to give to my son. He is absolutely thrilled with it.
Some of the MusicSkins that might appeal to teenagers are American Idol, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, iCarly, Bruno Mars, Linkin Park and Paramore.

MusicSkins for Everyone
There are also many that will appeal to adults. So if you are ordering any for your teens, why not personalize your own gadgets also. How would you like to dress up your phone with Sex and the City, The Sopranos, The Beatles, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5 or even Mom Central? Better yet, you can even upload your own photos and create a very personalized MusicSkin!

Full Disclosure: I received a free MusicSkin to review.

See also:  LifeProof iPhone Cases Protect Against Everything!

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The following was written by Marie-Charlotte, a 15 year old teen, who submits occasional articles to Connect with your Teens from the teens point of view.

Many mothers may be puzzled by their daughter’s choices in how they present themselves to the world. They may be asking questions such as the following:  Why do they wear such short . . . everything?  Or Why do they want piercings . . . everywhere?
   
The answers may vary but there is a principal impetus for us to dress the way that we do: to look different. We all want to have our own look. We all want to be remembered. We want friends. We want to be well liked. We don’t care what our parents think about our clothing; so don’t think that you can talk us out of it. We do want to be approved by our peers. The teen-atire is a complicated notion.

As the popularity of the Internet supersedes that of magazines, the style of the teen changes accordingly. We no longer look solely to the pages of Teen-vogue and Seventeen Magazine. Now that we are spending hours expressing ourselves on sites such as Tumbler, we pick up slurries of inspiration for our own wardrobes. Tumblr is a website that allows you to reblog others’ pictures of anything that speaks to you. You can also post pictures of your own. The majority of these pictures would fall under the category of “hipster.”

The fashion world must contort itself to fit the confines of the audiences taste. At my high school that would mean that the fashion world would have to model itself after stores such as Urban Outfitters, H&M, or Forever 21. We no longer have to wait to see what a high-end fashion stylist for Prada has put together for a 100 pound model in a photo-shoot. We can go online and see what girls like us are wearing.

You cannot act as though short clothing is new to our generation. That’s just a look that all girls trying to attract attention from boys will acquire. You probably did that at some point. It only worries you because you are afraid that your daughter may have the same intentions that you did back in the olden days. Don’t worry. We do also dress that way because we actually like the style. We want to look good for ourselves just as much as for acceptance from others. Remember, we love Niki Minaj and Lady Gaga, and as much as most of us won’t admit it, Miley Cyrus.

The piercings. Well the piercings may frighten you but those pretty much coincide with both tumblr/hipster fashion and trying to be individual.

I hope that helped clear some things up a bit.  I would talk about why boys dress the way that they do but honestly, the trend of wearing jeans pulled down to the middle of their legs is incomprehensible. Oh and also, back to girls, watch out for brightly colored highlights. Blue. Green. Purple. Pink. From what I see on my Facebook, they’re catching on. Maybe I’ll try some.

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