Teenager: Teen Health

The habits your teens are picking up right now may be the cause of their death when they are older. Acquiring habits in the teen years may cause cancer, heart disease, and stroke, as they grow older.

The best way to help your teenager make good choices is to talk to your teen.

If you are open and honest in discussing the dangers of smoking, drinking, and drug abuse, you will help your teen to withstand the peer pressure they face every day. Keep your lines of communication open. You can start the topic in a gentle way, with no condemnation or accusations and receive good results.

Advise your teen to stay away from tobacco products. Give your teen the information on second hand smoke. Let your teen know that using any tobacco product is dangerous, even the use of smokeless tobacco. They are getting information about smoking from TV ads, but they need the reinforcement of a parent to make it real.

Make sure your teenager is getting regular exercise.

Take part in their sports events if they are involved in school sports. Encourage your teen to ride their bike to go to a friend’s house. Make physical activity a regular part of your family time; bike riding, hiking, or even walking the dog will be an encouragement to keep your teen active.

Be sure they are eating a healthy diet at least at home.

Provide nutritional snacks so they won’t overload on sweets, fats, and sodium. It’s much easier for your teen to keep a healthy eating lifestyle if it begins when they are still in their teens or even younger. You can’t always keep your teen from getting fast food while they are out, but if they are home, you can encourage your teen to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and low-fat snacks. Yes, teenagers and even children can develop high blood cholesterol levels.

Advise your teen to always wear their seat belts in the car. In most states, it is a law that is beginning to be strictly enforced. There have been many cases on record of a life being saved by a seat belt. Strictly, enforce wearing seat belts by the driver and all passengers in their car. Set the example; wear yours every time you get in the car as well. Going right with that, is telling your teen to never drink and drive, or to get into a car with a driver who has been drinking or using drugs.

If your teenager is involved in skateboarding, motorcycling, or bike riding, remind your teen to always wear protective headgear.

Tell your teen to never swim alone, and the dangers of diving into shallow water.

If they are sexually active, be sure they know the importance of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases and avoiding pregnancy. Remember to tell your teen the “safest” sex is no sex.

Watch for unusual patterns in your teen.

If they have always been a good student and suddenly their grades are slipping, ask questions. If they are gaining or losing a lot of weight, ask questions. If they are unusually quiet or look sad or depressed, talk to your teenager.

As a parent or guardian, be sure they have regular visits to a doctor. A trained professional can discover if your teen is the right weight, height, and if they have normal blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Their doctor can also make sure that their vaccinations are up-to-date. These are important for teens as well to reduce the risk of getting diseases such as hepatitis, tetanus, and mumps.

Some interesting facts about our teenagers are:

Teen boys don’t use seat belts as often as young women
Teen boys are more likely to get into a violent situation
Teen boys are more likely to use smokeless tobacco products, use drugs, smoke, drink, or have multiple sexual partners.
Teen girls have a couple of special risks such as; they try to lose weight in an unhealthy way like bulimia or anorexia. They are more likely to try to commit suicide.
The top killers of teenagers today are car accidents, homicide, suicide, and deaths related to illegal drug or alcohol use.

The teen years are hard both on your teen and on you as parents. By keeping communication open and being sensitive to their moods, you can help your teen to stay healthy.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This website was prepared by an independent distributor and is neither approved nor adopted by Life Force International.

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