Recently, iVillage posted a slideshow of “27 Dangerous Teen Fads You Should Know About”. Perhaps I define “fad” and “dangerous” differently than iVillage. If something is considered a teen fad, more than an immeasurably small number of kids need to be doing it. And for something to be considered dangerous, it should be likely to cause harm. Most of the “dangerous fads” in iVillage’s slideshow fall at both of these hurdles. In fact, researchers have discovered that at least one of the “fads” in this list has never been tried by any teen, anywhere … ever. 

We worry about our kids—that’s natural. But we don’t have a limitless capacity to worry, so we need to prioritize our worrying. I suggest we start by ceasing to worry about dangerous fads that aren’t. Rather than debunk these myths one-by-one (I could, and for many, I already have in my book, The 5 Simple Truths of Raising Kids, and on my blog), I thought I would present the real teen fads you should know about.