Teenage Wellness is a curious concept, is it not?
Let’s imagine you are on the hunt for the perfect plant, an orchid, maybe. You bring your beautiful flowering plant home from the nursery - place it in front of the TV in the dark, attach a cellphone, ipod, and a notebook computer (or tablet PC in my house and for the crowing touch provide it a 12-pack of cola - or perhaps a coffee infusion. Hmmm, probably won’t thrive, will it?
So many parents are frustrated with their kids who want to live this way. What do we do??
Even though your kids are teens, they are still can operate in monkey see / monkey do mode.
Try these things -
1) be more active - ride your bike to the store and ask if they want to go, ask if they want to plan a hike, play tennis or any other outdoor activity, join your local Sierra Club for preplanned events.
2) start reading the labels outloud - wow, this has 450 calories and 100 grams of fat - that’s a sure fire way to get zits, I’m going to pass on this today.
3) print out an article on effects of soda/sugar/caffeine that hits home for them right now - wow, if you drink/eat this item it will age you faster or curb your sex drive…
4) cancer is a little too nebulous for most kids - they think they are immortal and unless you relate the consequences to a ‘reputable’ 3rd party and a ‘near term concern’ like weight gain, zits, looks or sex - you probably won’t get their attention.
5) try getting a trusted adult friend to bring up a concern when you’re not around - this worked for me when my son became enamored with energy drinks. This trusted ‘guy’ friend explained what energy drinks do to his system and the long term effects - and my son just stopped drinking the stuff.
6) cut back on coffee or cola yourself and share outloud the benefits with your kid. They’ll sniff out a contradiction in a second.
7) prepare meals with your kids. I couldn’t understand why they won’t make their lunches… I started asking what they wanted for lunch after dinner - and it became a little scavenger hunt creating a good lunch for the next day. Now you only have to figure out how to get them to remember to bring it
What’s worked in your home?? Please click on the comment button and share your thoughts -
Grace Lanni is a hi-tech entrepreneur in Austin, Texas raising her children as a single mom. Be Inspired By Your Teen is an invitation to parents and teachers of teenagers to engage in connected conversations which will shape their future.
Ms. Lanni wasn’t exactly planning to become an author. She was searching for resources and tools to support the changing teenage environment in her home, and was sorely disappointed by the online and written materials available. “People are reluctant to voice their teen parenting challenges. I learned to maintain my sanity as a single mom I had to reach out to my community, whether local or online, to support me in whatever problem I was facing. When my children were young, there were countless useful resources available. The challenges of raising and mentoring teenagers are much more complex, yet there is less published material. My wish is that more and more parents become vocal to insure they and their teenagers are as happy and healthy as possible.”
“Executives can also be parents”, Ms. Lanni states, “in the world of web2.0, online communities such as secondlife.com and facebook.com simply reflect the teenage conversations in our homes. Parents must engage in life-defining conversations with their teens if they intend to be their primary role models. I’ve invested my personal time in Be Inspired to ask parents and teachers to join me in developing the resources to lead these necessary talks.”