Raising a healthy teen requires taking a broad approach toward meeting the needs of your teenager. Yes, it is important to address diet, exercise, and eating and sleeping habits, but it is also important to help your teen to be emotionally healthy as well. From about the ages of 12 through 24, the human brain undergoes significant changes and development, and between the hormone surges and emotional immaturity combined with a strong desire for independence, being the parent becomes even more challenging than it already was.

Because body image is such a critical factor in self-esteem, the way your teen eats is important. Having the proper nutrients makes a difference. Even if your teen struggles with weight issues, you should not encourage him or her to diet or starve but to make healthier choices about what they eat. Instead of buying potato chips for snack, buy baby carrots. Instead of grabbing fast food for dinner, make meals at home.

Most teenagers are still growing and therefore require a lot of nutrients to help with proper development of the brain and body. Since your teen’s bones are still growing, meals should have sufficient calcium and other minerals like iron and zinc. The diet should consist of plenty of carbohydrates to provide the body with enough energy, as well as fruits, vegetables, and protein. (Quick, easy meals like spaghetti and meatballs offer a great solution for meeting nutrition needs without needing too much time).

All kids need a physical outlet for their energy and emotions. If your child is not involved in sports, encourage him or her to ride a bike, walk to school, go swimming, or find some other active hobby. A healthy teen is one whose time in front of the computer and video games is limited and monitored. Your teen needs fresh air, free time, and time away from the TV set and off the couch.

Being Healthy isn’t Just About Food

A healthy teen is a teen that not only has access to healthy food choices and encouragement to exercise regularly but also a supportive atmosphere in which to try out his or her newfound independence. They should be allowed to socialize with their friends and have a level of independence that grows as they demonstrate increasingly capable responsibility. As a parent, you can foster independence by encouraging your teen to take responsibility for his or her choices, by increasing the amount of responsibility your teen has around the house and in making life decisions, and by letting your teen experience the consequences of his or her actions.

The most important thing you can do to have a healthy teen is to be open, honest, supportive, and there. Being available for your teen when he or she needs someone to talk to or needs someone to place boundaries and set guidelines and stay firm can give your child the sense of security and safety he or she needs. Raising a healthy teen takes time, effort, and a lot of patience, but the effort you put in now will pay off in many ways.

Check out  No-Nonsense Parenting For Today’s Teenager and learn how to feel like a good parent even when your teenager hates you. Also learn how get your disrespectful Teenager to LISTEN to what you say & RESPECT you as their parent while getting peace back in your home. Risk Free for 60 Days! No Obligation!”

There is a lot of imporance on teen self esteem.  The better your teens feel about themselves, the less likely they are to be disrespectful. Self-esteem affects many aspects of your teens’ life, from how well they are able to manage peer pressure to how well they perform academically.

You can foster your teen’s self-esteem by limiting your discipline to addressing behavior, not personality. When you are confronting your teen for a behavior, never say, “You are so stupid,” or, “Why did you do this? Don’t you learn?” When you criticize who your teen is, you diminish their entire person. Instead, address the behavior:

“I love you very much, but you made a very poor choice. The consequences of your choice are…”

“I know you are a good person. But by choosing to do this, you now are responsible for earning the money to pay for the damage.”

It doesn’t matter what your teen did or how “bad” it seems to you…it’s the action you are addressing, not the person, when you discipline.

Realize that you have less control over how your teen feels about himself or herself that you might realize. Much of your teen’s self-esteem is dependent on the respect and admiration he or she earns from peers at school. That’s why it is so important not to fight over the little things.

I always tell the parents I see at my seminars to “choose their battles.” If you are at war with your teenage son because he wants a purple Mohawk, even though he is otherwise a good kids with decent grades, you are drawing a line in the sand that will distance the two of you from each other and keep him from exploring his identity in a way that is meaningful to him.

Instead of fighting with your teen over his or her appearance or style, commend your teen for having a sense of individuality. Hair grows back. Colors fade. Support your teen as he or she explores new looks and styles; it is simply a way for him or her to discover true identity, make an impact and be noticed among his or her peers, and gain confidence.

By supporting these explorations, your teen will be more likely to respond when you really do have to say no…like when he or she has been invited to an unsupervised party in which there might be alcohol. If you’ve said yes to the purple Mohawk and yes to individuality, your teen will hear you when you say no, not this party, not this time.

Tips for building self-esteem in your teen:

• Treat your teen with respect
• Allow your teen to be an individual
• Celebrate your teen’s differences from you
• Empower your teen to make decisions about his or her own life
• Address behavior issues, not personality
• Talk to your teen, but more importantly, listen to your teen
• Give your teen coping tools to manage peer pressures
• Empower your teen to say no

Check out  No-Nonsense Parenting For Today’s Teenager and learn how to feel like a good parent even when your teenager hates you. Also learn how get your disrespectful Teenager to LISTEN to what you say & RESPECT you as their parent while getting peace back in your home. Risk Free for 60 Days! No Obligation!”

Help keep tweens and teens healthy with up-to-date teen vaccinations

(ARA) – Vaccinations are not just for younger children. Even though kids may have received their recommended vaccinations when they were younger, they still may need additional vaccines as adolescents.

To help protect preteens and teens from serious diseases and keep them healthy for school, talk with their health care provider and make sure their teen vaccinations are up to date. In addition, their school nurse is a great resource for general health and immunization information.

In a recent conversation about immunizations, Sandi Delack from the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) provided answers to some important questions:

1. What vaccines are recommended for preteens and teens?

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends:

* Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (Whooping cough): Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccines) is a single booster vaccine that helps to protect against all three diseases. Experts recommend that adolescents receive a single dose of this vaccine at 11 to 12 years if they have completed the childhood diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole cell pertussis (DTP)/ diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccination series and have not received a tetanus and diphtheria toxoid (Td). Persons aged 13 through 18 years who have not received Tdap should receive a dose.

* Human papillomavirus: HPV vaccine helps protect against certain types of the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Experts recommend that girls get this set of three vaccines at age 11 or 12 years. Catch-up vaccination is also recommended in girls 13 through 18 years. Boys between ages 9 through 18 years may choose to get this set of three vaccines to prevent genital warts.

* Meningococcal: MCV4 helps protect against meningococcal disease (meningitis). Experts recommend that adolescents get a single dose of this vaccine at age 11 or 12 years.

* Influenza (Flu) and H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu): The influenza vaccine for the 2010-2011 influenza season helps to protect against influenza (also known as the “flu”), including the H1N1 strain of influenza that caused the recent pandemic. The CDC recommends that preteens/teens get the flu vaccine yearly.

If not required for school attendance in your state, additional vaccines to be discussed with your health care provider or school nurse include those for chicken pox; measles, mumps, rubella; pneumococcal disease; polio; Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B.

2. What happens if my preteen or teen misses his or her vaccines?
There are many reasons why preteens and teens may miss getting the recommended vaccinations on time, including moving to a new state, switching health care providers or the vaccine may have been unavailable when they were younger. Whatever the reason, it is not too late for your preteen or teen to catch up on missed vaccines. Talk to your health care provider or school nurse to ensure your preteen or teen is up-to-date on recommended vaccines for their age group and caught up on any missed vaccines.

3. Does my preteen or teen need to get vaccinated again if he or she was vaccinated as a child?
There are many times throughout your child’s life where it is recommended he or she receives additional vaccinations to help protect them from contagious diseases. Even though preteens and teens may have received the recommended immunizations when they were younger, protection from some vaccines may decline, leaving them at risk for infection from certain diseases. For example, the whooping cough vaccination wears off five to 10 years after the completion of childhood vaccination, so a booster vaccine is recommended.

4. Where can I find more information about preteen/teen immunization?
The CDC recommended vaccination schedule can be found at www.cdc.gov.

In addition to your health care provider, your child’s school nurse is a great resource to learn more about recommended immunizations. Your school nurse has access to the most up-to-date information on immunization recommendations and school immunization requirements. They can also discuss other questions or concerns regarding your preteen’s or teen’s health. After all, the goal of the school nurse is to help keep students healthy so they can succeed in school.

Grab more information on Teen Health here

It’s easy to forget how dramatic and difficult it can be to be young. As we get older, we envy the energy and attitude of youth, missing the days when we could stay up late and still go 100 miles an hour the next day. We tend to gloss over the way it really was…the tension, the pressure, the demands, the frustration of being not quite a grown up. Teens are under a tremendous amount of pressure from home, school, friends, coaches, and even themselves. This pressure can often lead to teen depression.

If you are a parent coping with teen depression, there are things you can do to help your teen cope. Take a look at your teen’s schedule; does he or she have too many obligations? Are your teen’s nights and weekends filled with practices and games and performances and other things that keep them from having regular meals, homework time, and family time? Teen depression can often be caused by feeling overwhelmed and out of control.’

If your teen is too busy, teach him or her to take time to relax. Encourage balance through prioritizing. Help them choose one or two activities that are truly important to them and help them break away from doing more than they need to. Try to make family time where all of you can sit together and share a meal and talk. Talking and having a comfortable and safe home environment can reduce teen depression and help your teen recover.

When your son or daughter is suffering from teen depression, he or she may lash out in anger. Your teen may behave differently, have difficulty eating or sleeping, or become withdrawn. You may see more emotional outbursts or an inability to cope with the slightest change to routine or schedule. When teen depression escalates out of control, it can cause your teen to feel suicidal or become physically ill.

Signs of teen depression include:

• Ongoing sadness, anxiety, or feelings of emptiness
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Changes in appetite
• Listlessness or unwillingness to engage in previously enjoyed activities
• Irritability
• Digestion problems
• Fatigue, restlessness, hopelessness
• Difficulty making decisions
• Thoughts of suicide

Often, depression can be treated with medication. Be cautious, however, because many depression medications that work well in adults can trigger suicidal thoughts in teens. Counseling and therapy may help your teen and you can avoid medications. If your teen does have to take medication for depression, be sure you talk to them about the side effects and monitor their behavior closely.

Before teen depression takes a firm hold, seek help for your teen. If scaling back on obligations and being there for your teen aren’t enough to help, enlist the aid of a mental health professional. Don’t dismiss the possibility that your teen is coping with something more serious. Depression can be genetic, but it can also be caused by devastating experiences like date rape, bullying, or academic difficulties.

If you are facing an urgent situation, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) in the U.S. or 1-800-448-3000 in Canada.

Visit No-Nonsense Parenting For Today’s Teenager – It covers nearly everything you need to know about how to deal with Disrespectful, Out-Of-Control or Abusive Adolescent-Teenage Behavior…Plus More — and it’ll make your life as a parent a whole lot easier at the same time!

Single moms deserve a lot of credit whether they are raising babies or teenagers. It takes a lot of extra effort, patience, perseverance and determination to be a single mom. Parenting teens as a single mom is especially difficult due to the financial, emotional, educational and physical strains raising a teenager entails.

Financially

Raising a teen as a single mom can be especially stressful because teenagers require money extracurricular activities, special school assignments, vehicles to get around in and so on. Hopefully you have some financial support from the father, but this is not often the case. If you are raising a teen on your own, it’s best to teach your teen how to be frugal from the get go.

Most local resale shops have brand name clothing at reduced rates. Consignment shops often carry high quality, brand name clothing that your teen will love. Getting them in the shop for the first time might be challenging, but once they realize the value of consignment shops, they’ll be hooked. They will soon discover they can get so much more for their (your) money shopping at consignment stores. In addition, you can also teach them how to consign their clothes to earn some cash when they’re through with them.

Also, teach them how to be frugal when it comes to putting miles on the car. Help them map out the shortest routes and to plan ahead when going into town or shopping so they make as few trips as possible.

If they are old enough, it’s never too early for them to get a job. Teach them how to fill out an application, ask to talk to the manager and to make follow up phone calls. Then once they have a job, teach them how to budget and how to save money for larger items they desire. You can also allow them to help pay a bill or two, especially if they have a cell phone or a computer that requires internet service.

Emotionally

Raising a teenager as a single mom is probably the most difficult emotionally for you and your teen. If your singleness is due to divorce, your teen may be harboring some resentment towards you and your ex-husband. If you notice your teen acting out abnormally in anger or suspect alcohol or drug use, seek professional counseling immediately for both of you.

The teenage years are difficult emotionally anyway due to rising hormone levels and peer pressure. Try to keep the lines of communication open between you and your teen. Teach them to talk to you respectfully and to honor your rules. This may require tough love, but believe me, you’re teen needs and wants routine and boundaries, whether they know it or not.

For more tips and information on raising a teen as a single mom, see Real Life Guidance for Understanding your Teen by Aurelia Williams.