Outside the home, you must count on consequences for doing the teaching. As your teenager experiments, she’ll learn to take responsibility for her decisions and actions. Speak up only if your adolescent is going to do something dangerous or illegal. Otherwise, let the school of hard knocks take over. If your teen has bad work […]
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Teenagers need house rules; written ones will cut down on misunderstandings. Since you own the house and run the house, you make the rules. • First, you have to decide whether or not to loan out your car, bicycle, camera, radio, TV, clothes, and so on. If your teenager breaks something, she should repair it
Dressing, talking, and acting differently than adults helps your teenager feel independent. Most of these objectionable habits and preferences merely reflect conformity with your teen’s peer group. Try not to criticize him about these “no win” topics. Too much criticism can destroy your relationship. So “back off” as they say. • Don’t try to change
Some talking back is normal. We want our teenagers to express their anger through talking, and when a teen challenges our decisions and opinions in a logical way, we need to listen. Expect your teenager to present his case passionately, even unreasonably, but let the small stuff go; it’s only words. On the other hand,
The main work of adolescents in our culture is to become psychologically emancipated from the parents. The teenager must cast aside the dependent relationship of childhood and gain control of his life. This process is characterized by a certain amount of normal defiance and rudeness. Emotions run high and mood swings are common. The following
Many fat teenagers have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, in addition to emotional problems. Being a fat adolescent can have a devastating effect on self-esteem and self-confidence. If your teenager is on her way towards being fat, or is already fat, she needs help. She doesn’t need your criticism or ridicule, but rather your
Heart attacks are rare among teenagers, but it may surprise you to know that for some adolescents the stage is already set for future trouble. Many of our teenagers already have the beginnings of hardening of their arteries. The problem is their diets – much too high in saturated fats and cholesterol. Hamburgers, french fries,
You shouldn’t try to force your teenager to exercise, even if he is already overweight and sedentary, but you should encourage him every chance you get. Set the proper example yourself and let it go at that. The best exercises for a teenager in terms of achieving true physical fitness are aerobic or endurance exercises.
Sometime around four to six weeks, your baby’s sleeping and eating will begin to settle towards a pattern. Once he sometimes sleeps for three or four hours at a stretch, you’ll want him to do that at night and save his dozing for the day. You can’t make him and you can’t hurry him, but
Many teen girls worry about and sometimes suffer from vaginal infections. How can you reassure your daughter and help her to maintain good health and hygiene? • Reassure her that a clear to whitish, non-irritating vaginal discharge is normal. A discharge is abnormal only if it causes irritation, itching, is mixed with blood, has a
Does your teen seem unusually tired lately? Does he have a lower than usual level of energy? Some parents immediately think that a teen sleeping much of the weekend, or lying around, is simply lazy or bored. This may be true in your teen’s case, but it’s also important to look beyond your first impression
Many people thing of infectious mononucleosis as the “kissing disease” but this is something of a misnomer. This disease, caused by a virus, is most likely to strike young people who are already fatigued and exhausted. That may explain why it is so common among high school and college students around exam time. Symptoms vary,
Traditionally, the dangers of early sex have been regarded as emotional and social. Certainly becoming involved in a sexual relationship and then losing that relationship can cause intense pain to a young, inexperienced adolescent. Getting pregnant at a young age and deciding to keep the baby can seriously threaten a young woman’s health, and limit
Good communication with a doctor is vital to a person’s health and can be a challenge in the self-conscious teen years. But you can help your teen in several ways: 1. Urge him/her to be honest with the doctor. Doctors have heard just about everything and aren’t likely to be shocked. Honest answers can be
Teens need to get the message that safe sex needs to be practiced by sexually active people of all ages. Even if your teen is not yet sexually active, and you’d prefer him or her to remain that way, talking about the risks of venereal diseases and prevention tactics can help him or her to
Chlamydia is one of the most common venereal diseases in the U.S. and is found most often in sexually active adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19. Chlamydia is a disease that most teenagers know very little about, and don’t think to try to prevent. Second, it often has no symptoms at all, either
Does your teenager have swelling and tenderness around the knees and pain in the lower leg? He or she may have Osgood Schlatters’ disease, a disorder of the mineralization of the leg bones, that is quite common in active young people between the ages of ten and fifteen. This condition, which is caused by irregular
Scoliosis is a correctable deformity in which the spine curves to one side instead of growing straight. It is especially common in girls in the growing years between the ages of 10 and 16. Usual ages for onset in girls is 9 to 10, and for boys, 11 to 12. Although there is some evidence
Urinary infections are quite common in teenagers and young adults, especially women. There are many causes: • Bubble Baths can cause irritation of the urethra and can result in a urinary infection. • Careless wiping after a bowel movement causes feces to contaminate the urinary opening and can result in an infection. • Many young
Suntans and sunburns used to be a normal, teenage summer ritual. Now, studies show that prolonged sun exposure can put one at increased risk for malignant melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. One study at Harvard Medical School found that even one case of blistering sunburn in childhood could double a young person’s risk
