EARLY ADOLESCENCE

 

 

HEALTH ISSUES

 

• Offer healthy snack and meal choices. Encourage fruits and vegetables.
• Encourage 3 meals daily, including a well-balanced breakfast.
• Make an appointment with your dentist for a routine exam and continue routine cleanings every 6 months.
• Brush, and floss teeth daily.
• Ensure adequate amounts of sleep and physical activity (exercise vigorously three times per week).
• Review physical conditioning, weight training, fluids with exercise.
• Encourage importance of good personal hygiene.
• Counsel on avoiding smoking, chewing tobacco; alcohol; diet pills; steroids; and drugs. Avoid situations where these items are used and offered.

 

SAFETY ISSUES

 

• Use a seat belt whenever in a moving car or van.
• Set limits and encourage importance of good driving responsibility. Follow speed limits.
• Install and test your smoke detector in or near your child's room.
• Obtain your local Poison Control Center’s phone number and keep it on hand.
• Demand use of bike helmet; mouth guards and protective sporting gear when necessary.
• Instruct on fire safety.
• Do not keep a firearm in your home. If you must, make sure it is locked. Do not allow your child to carry weapons.
• Follow water safety rules.

 

YOUR CHILD SHOULD…

 

• Have specific interests or hobbies.
• Show pride in his or her achievements.
• Respect limits and consequences parents institute.
• Listen and care about peers and siblings.
• Be making steady progress in school.
• Share in household responsibilities.
• Know how to swim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOU SHOULD…

 

• Praise your child at every opportunity.
• Talk regularly with your child.
• Listen to music together with your child.
• Limit TV to certain programs and to maximum of 1 hour per day. Practice selective TV viewing (not channel surfing). Limit video games to the same time limit.
• Encourage your child to read.
• Encourage participation in sports, hobbies, learning a musical instrument and other specific interests or talents.
• Be consistent with rules. Reinforce limits and provide consequences. You decide how strict or liberal to be, just make sure you are consistent.
• Set reasonable but challenging goals for your child.
• Respect your child's autonomy, privacy.
• Offer choices to your child at every opportunity to allow decision-making.
• Eat meals as a family.
• Spend time doing fun family activities and family rituals.
• Try to allow expression of feelings (anger, joy, sadness, fear). Offer ways to resolve conflicts and handle anger. Discuss strategies for handling peer pressure. Discuss self-confidence issues, importance of value system; seek help if depressed or feels hopeless.
• Discuss sexual feelings as normal. Discuss body image. Encourage abstinence from sex; it is the safest way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Answer questions appropriately.
• Encourage your child to have positive interactions with teachers and other adults.
• Prepare for school, meet with teachers regularly. Get involved with your child's school and organized activities.
• Discuss job or career goals and interests.
• Get to know your child's friends and their families. Encourage interaction with good peer groups.
• Be an example of the type of person you want your child to be.
• Spend time alone with your partner - one of the best things you can do for your older child is to maintain a quality relationship with your partner.