Valerie Grison Blog

September was a special month for Give Us The Floor. It’s our first anniversary. And we launched the first “semester themes“, the first product of our very special process for letting teenagers decide for themselves what they need: the teens voted to focus on two broad themes. The results are Health (Mental & Physical) and […]

My decision to recover did not come lightly, nor did I completely commit myself to it when I chose to do so. To even begin to start thinking about recovery you first need to acknowledge and accept the fact you have a problem, which I did not. Despite being dangerously underweight I still saw myself […]

  It was my mother who feared my death the most. She would cry in hysterics of a night after having woken up from the same nightmare she had been having for weeks: my dad carrying my body, which can only be described as lifeless, pale and brittle, down the stairs in our home, with […]

E-cigarette usage has become a trend. Do not mistake or confuse them with smokeless cigarettes. E-cigarettes are battery powered cigarettes designed to release a nicotine vapor that looks like smoke. Though originally touted as a better option to smoking without the same carcinogens from smoking tobacco, there are now concerns regarding the chemicals ingredients and […]

Teenage boys are most often presented as sex-crazed. Well, according to a study recently published in the American Journal of Men’s Health, that stereotype is inaccurate. The study looked at 33 teenage boys between 14 and 16 who were mostly black and who came from an urban area which serves mostly low-income families. Although the […]

The years between 10 and 14 are a difficult time for children. They want the independence of their older peers, but they are at an impressionable stage of life. This is a time when they are beginning to shape their lives and starting to really become the people they will be in high school, but also […]

One of the most important aspects of tween psychology is the development of skills needed for managing their own lives, making good choices, and becoming self-reliant. At this in-between stage tweens are leaving the familiar surroundings of elementary school, and entering middle school where their decision-making and independence will be tested every day. The way […]

Have you already heard about “planking” or the “cinnamon challenge”? These quirky and potentially dangerous trends went viral on the Internet and are especially popular among teens. Originating in France as an artistic gesture, ‘planking’ as we know it took on its present day form thanks to two British teens in 2006. They uploaded their […]

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides national and state-level data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, and mental health in the United States. Its most recent report shows teen trends in substance abuse: The most popular drug among teens remains alcohol, but its use is steadily declining The use of […]