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This article comes from Aaron Kuriloff of Bloomberg.com. You can find the full story by clicking here. My thoughts are after the story.

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) — Playing team sports increases teenage boys’ likelihood to binge drink and fight, while reducing unhealthy behavior in girls, a study found.

Teen girls who played team sports said they fought less, were depressed less often and didn’t smoke as much, according to a study presented today at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting. Male athletes who played team sports also reported some benefits, such as less depression and smoking, the organization said in a news release.

“Sports team participation appears to have both protective and risk-enhancing associations,” said the study’s author, Susan M. Conner from the Injury Prevention Center at University Hospitals’ Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, in the release. “These results indicate that healthy lifestyle benefits are not universal and do not apply equally across genders.”

The study surveyed 13,000 U.S. high school students to evaluate links between team sports and risky behavior. About 60 percent of the boys reported they played team sports within the last year, compared with 48 percent of girls.

The boys playing team sports reported binge-drinking rates 40 percent higher and fighting 30 percent more often than nonathletes, according to the news release. The athlete boys also showed 30 percent lower rates of depression and 20 percent less smoking.

The girls showed no link to drinking in the study, the research reported. The athletic girls showed 10 percent lower rates of fighting, 30 percent less depression, 50 percent less smoking and 10 percent less unhealthy weight loss habits compared with nonathlete girls, the study found.

This study doesn’t come as a huge surprise to me. I think parents, teachers, coaches, and teenagers have had a pretty good idea about these results for a long time. For many teenagers, especially guys, sports is associated with popularity and popularity is associated with alcohol. In my high school, many of the popular guys were athletes who also drank.

Less smoking among both genders seems obvious as well. It’s difficult to be an athlete at the top of your game if you’re smoking.

It’s also no surprise that sports seems to boost or at least sustain self-esteem. When teenagers have a hobby or something they can spend time doing, it helps self-esteem, especially when a teen can find reason to feel good about sometime. Self-esteem is also built when relationships are built through activities such as sports.

The increase in fighting among athletes vs nonathletes doesn’t seem to be surprising concerning boys. I’ve seen fights break out among fans at hockey games. Guys take a lot of pride in their teams, even if they’re not the ones playing. If guys are playing, that pride increases even more. When someone talks bad about their team, they take it personal. That’s when fists get thrown and fights ensue.

Although much of this information may seem obvious and predictable, it is saddening and scary and something parents should take note of. While athletics can have many positive effects on the lives of teenagers, it can also lead them to take part in things that are unwholesome.

Teenagers will do almost anything to be liked, popular, or just fit in. For some, this is turning to sports. If sports was as far as this went, the problem would not be so complicated and detrimental. Unfortunately, the drive for popularity leads many teens (especially guys) beyond the field and to the bottle. Maybe the boys should take a note from the girls on this one…

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You’re driving along in your car and your phone beeps. It happens to be a simple text message from one of your friends asking you a simple question. Now you have a decision. You can quickly text your friend back while you drive, or you can wait 20 minutes to reply to the message. What do you do?

According to statistics, most of us would probably text our friend back while driving. I’m just as guilty of it as anyone else. Unfortunately, I’m not in the minority. Statistics show that over 50% of people (specifically teens) admit to texting while driving.

While that may sound alarming, the news gets worse. Studies are now showing that texting while driving (or driving while texting in many cases) may be as distracting and dangerous as driving drunk. Just as a drunk driver is disoriented on the road, “texters” are extremely distracted, often looking down instead of keeping their eyes on the road. For those of us who have been in an accident, we all know it only takes a split second for something devastating to happen.

In many ways, it’s a selfish problem. We’ve all been behind someone swerving on the road who constantly changes speeds from 10 mph under the speed limit to 20 mpg over. When we finally catch up to them, we look over and see the person is typing away on a Blackberry, ignorant to his or her driving habits. When that happens, we get mad. We honk our horn. Maybe we yell something at him or her. And we definitely make sure to get out from that car. 

However, when our phone beeps, our concern for everyone else on the road (and in our car) goes out the window. For some reason, our plans with Stacey take precedent over safety.

Several states have taken action against this by developing “Hands Free” Laws. These laws prevent drivers from using cell phones in any capacity while driving, unless the driver uses a “hands free” receiver, such as Blue Tooth. This prohibits texting and holding a phone to the ear. 

The majority of states have yet to adopt this type of law. Without laws in place, texting while driving is completely legal, even for teenagers. 

I think it’s about time we start putting down our cell phones and demanding tighter driving laws.

Okay. I’m off my soapbox for today.

When I was in high school, some of my fellow students referred to their parents as the “cool” parents. It had nothing to do with time that was spent together, wise teaching, or provision. In fact, the opposite was true. These parents were the “cool” parents because they bought their kids alcohol, let them host wild parties, and even allowed boyfriends and girlfriends to sleep over. They were “cool” because they matched the same worldly maturity level of their kids. 

The truth of the matter is these parents were anything but “cool.” In fact, they were a hindrance to their teen’s maturity and even put them in harm’s danger. Their relationship with their teen was actually better characterized with words like “neglect” and “irresponsibility.”

Unfortunately, too many of these detrimental relationships exist. Rather than seeing the importance of the parent-child relationship, many parents prefer to be their teen’s best friend and forfeit the responsibilities of a parent. In many regards, it’s easier that way. The drudgery of discipline can take a backseat and life can be enjoyed as BFFs (best friends forever). However, this lack of parenting is not only wrong in its appearance; it is unbiblical.

In Deuteronomy 6, we are given very specific instructions on how parents should raise children. The passage says nothing about dressing like your teen, talking like your teen, or making sure you give in to your teen’s every demand to avoid problems. Instead, the passage says parents are responsible for teaching their children the ways of God. They are called to be the spiritual leaders in the home and impress God’s Word upon the hearts of their children.

Being a spiritual leader in the home may not be “cool” by teenage standards, but it’s a demand from God. Parents need to uphold that message through teaching, encouraging, disciplining, and rebuking their children when necessary. While it may not always seem desirable, the long-term benefits far outweigh what’s happening now.