Print This PageAdvocare Advice for Teen Years
Immunizations:
- All children under the age of 18 should receive a flu shot every year.
- Tdap (Tetanus, Diptheria, and Pertussis).
- Menactra.
- HPV.
Safety:
- Get teens in the habit of always wearing a seatbelt in the car, and always wearing a helmet on bikes, scooters, skateboards, and skis.
- Help your teen understand internet safety. Teens should not communicate with strangers or post any personal information on the internet. Make sure privacy settings on social media sites allow access only to family and friends.
- Make sure your teen knows how you feel about alcohol, smoking, and drugs.
- Talk to your child about sex, smoking, drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure.
- Consider a plan to make sure your child and his/her friends cannot get alcohol or prescription drugs in your home.
- Avoid having a gun in the home. If you must have a gun, store it unloaded and locked with the ammunition locked-up somewhere separately from the gun.
Healthy Behavior Choices:
- Children should eat a healthy breakfast every day.
- Serve healthy food and eat together often as a family.
- Buy fat-free milk dairy foods; encourage 3 to 4 servings each day.
- Encourage eating lots of fruits and vegetables (at least five servings per day).
- Limit "junk" food; stock up on healthy snacks.
- Encourage your child to get at least one hour of vigorous physical activity every day.
- Encourage children to brush their teeth twice a day and floss once a day.
- Help your child get to the dentist twice a year.
- Help your child limit screen time (TV, video games, computer). We encourage no screen time on school nights, and limit weekends to two hours per day.
- We recommend no TV/computer in the bedroom!
- Cell phones should be turned off at night.
Your Growing and Changing Teen:
- Talk with your teen about how his/her body is changing with puberty.
- Praise your teen when he/she does something well, not just when he/she looks good.
- Talk with your child as he/she become responsible for schoolwork.
- Help your child with organizing time, if necessary.
- Chores are important! Give your teen responsibilities in the home and make sure teens contribute to the overall well-being of the family.
- Help your child find activities that he/she is really excited about, and help to promote that excitement.
- Encourage reading.
Feeling Happy:
- Encourage your teen to think through problems on his/her own, with your support.
- Help your teen figure out healthy ways to deal with stress.
- Spend time with your child.
- Know your child's friends and their parents.
- Know where your child is and what he/she is doing at all times.
- Show teens how to use talk to share feelings and handle disputes.
- If you are concerned that your teen is sad, depressed, nervous, irritable, hopeless, or angry, talk with us.
Useful Websites: