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RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
CULTURE TRANSLATOR
Culture translator is a glimpse into what is influencing teens right now. It provides insightful perspective on relevant topics in your teen's world. You can use these as a nudge to start conversation with the teenagers in your home. Culture Translator is provided by Axis. The information we are providing from Axis does not equal an endorsement. There are many links within these Culture Translator blurbs. We can not guarantee the content of each site (especially the ads).
Summer of Sabrina
What it is: Sabrina Carpenter has been on the scene for a long time, but her newest hit single, “Espresso,” poises her to be the artist of the summer.
Why it’s her breakout moment: “Espresso,” writes Vox, “effectively crystallizes the persona that Carpenter has been creating for herself: a proudly flippant ditz who is so much savvier than she seems.” The song’s catchphrase “that’s that me espresso” is grammatical nonsense, yet has that stuck-in-your-head quality that defines the singer’s catalog. (“Espresso” also features plenty of innuendo and some explicit language.) The singer isn’t coming from out of nowhere—she started out as the star of Disney’s Girl Meets World, proceeded to have a covert-but-not-really war of lyrical words with Olivia Rodrigo, and has opened for Taylor Swift. [If you’re reading this and feeling totally out of the cultural loop, we’ve got you covered. Check out our Parent Guide to Summer 2024 for a debrief on all of the biggest trends this summer.]
Best Dressed
What it is: The senior prom is still a huge deal to teens, though “prom” may look a little less fancy than it used to.
Why it’s changing: Teens in the 1980s and 1990s grew up with a wide range of teen-specific fashion brands to choose from, as well as dozens of hit movies that fueled the idea of what prom should look like in the popular imagination. But the retail landscape has flattened, and teen girls and young professional women have, in many ways, merged into one consumer demographic. Teens may hit the dance floor in short floral dresses with a corseted bodice and straps for sleeves or go for a satin slip dress in black or a neutral color. Of course, many teens may still prefer to make a grand entrance with a big gown, but it seems like teens can find a prom style they’re comfortable with on a wide spectrum of what’s seen as trendy or acceptable.
Teenspeak Translator
Sometimes it simply feels like teens and adults speak two totally different languages. And sometimes, that’s because teens actually are using a distinctive set of shortened words, playful abbreviations, and twisted-together cultural references to communicate.
In 2024, teen slang develops more quickly than most adults could ever imagine. Phrases are coined, widely adopted, and then often, discarded completely before the term even reaches the ears of the grown-ups.
Lots of slang is harmless, serving as a fun and witty way to establish an identity that is distinct and distant from the older generations’ ways of speaking.
But a few slang words can be cause for concern. “Algospeak” refers particularly to terms that have evolved online to discuss controversial issues while evading content moderation bots, and often takes the form of abbreviations or unexpected prefixes (like “unalive,” which means to kill or to die).
Since slang evolves so quickly, we devote a lot of time to keeping up with it. To help parents keep up, we’ve created a 2024 glossary that catalogs over 120 slang words. You’ll find definitions, red flags to look out for, and more insights into what, exactly, your teen is talking about.
DOWNLOADS:
Parents Guide to Violence
Parents Guide to smartphone addiction - when it's goes from using it a lot to addiction
Parent Guide to Teenage FOMO - understanding their desire to not be left out
Talking to white kids about Racism - podcast with other materials as well
Managing Fear & Anxiety for Parents
Downloadable Crisis Conversation Guides by Age
SYNC YOUR CALENDARS: Don't forget to sync your devices with our calendar HERE.
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