- Ensure proper nutrition (eating three meals a day and two nutritious snacks, limiting high sugar and high fat foods, eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low fat dairy products, including 3 servings of milk, cheese or yogurt to meet their calcium needs), regular exercise, adequate sleep (10-11 hours each night), and participation in extracurricular activities at school and in the community.
- Limit television viewing and encourage reading.
- Practice food safety: washing fruits and vegetables and not eating undercooked meats or poultry.
- Brush teeth with a fluoride toothpaste twice a day and have your child seen regularly by a dentist. Encourage flossing each day.
- Supervise your child's use of the computer (a child at this age should not have unsupervised access to the Internet), computer games, movies, and know what they have access to at their friends' homes.
- Prepare your child for puberty and sexual development and begin sexuality education if you have not already done so, including that abstinence is the safest way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
- It is also very important to begin communicating with your child to help prevent them from picking up bad habits, including the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs (including the use of inhalants; especially aerosols and glue). Children whose parents talk to them regularly are at much less risk for experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. Teach them how to avoid situations where drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes are present and to choose friends who also choose not to use these substances. Emphasize to them that these substances can hurt them, can make them sick, can cause decrease lung function and problems playing sports, and that it is OK to say no. Also, do not let them attend parties that are unsupervised by adults and let your child know that they can communicate openly with you about these difficult subjects. Watch for the warning signs of drug use, including a sudden change in your child's behavior or personality, decreased performance in school, or changes in what friends they associate with.
- New! Inaddition to teaching your children to avoid cigarettes, a new hazard is the increasing use of bidi cigarettes, which are imported from India, are unfiltered and come in various flavors. Although marketed as a safe alternative to regular cigarettes, bidis are even more hazardous, and although they contain less tobacco, they produce more nicotine, tar and carbon dioxide than regular cigarettes, and should be avoided by your children. You should also educate your children that bidi cigarettes are not herbal or tobacco free as many adolescents believe.
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