Teenage Pressures: How Can Parents Help?

Bullying. Peer pressure. Social media. These are just a few of the many stressors facing today’s teenagers.

As a parent and pharmacist, I’m acutely aware that our youth are influenced by social and environmental elements that obstruct healthy lifestyle practices.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced a research study on Youth Risk Behavior in the United States.  The study surveyed over 15,000 9-12 grade students, and produced the following statistics:

[Nearly a third] of high school students nationwide had texted or e-mailed while driving, 38.7% had [consumed] alcohol, and 23.1% had used marijuana. During the 12 months before the survey, 32.8% of students had been in a physical fight, 20.1% had been bullied on school property, and 7.8% had attempted suicide.

 “Healthy mind – healthy body” is an expression that both teens and their parents can get behind.

So while it is up to adolescents to make their own decisions, parents can nurture their child’s lifestyle by encouraging proper habits—many of which simply require that teens make good lifestyle choices.

Here are some lifestyle choices parents should promote:

Avoid junk food, along with white flour and processed sugar as frequently as possible. 

Get a minimum of nine hours of sleep every night.  A consistent sleep schedule is essential to a healthy lifestyle.  Sleep is a crucial building block to long term health, especially for adolescents.

Avoid caffeine.  Caffeine tends to deter teens from a good routine—kids are ingesting a lot of caffeine through coffee, soda, energy drink, and other beverages.  While caffeine may keep one alert, it also tends to induce anxiety and interfere with sleep habits.

Do not smoke cigarettes, consume excessive amounts of alcohol, or use illicit drugs. These habits are not good to develop at any point in life, but particularly as a teenager, when the body and brain are still developing.

Promote an active lifestyle and participation in sports.  Besides the obvious benefits of exercise, like toning muscles and staying thin, participating in sports is a great way for teens to make friends and foster relationships.

Be sure teens are not exposed to illegal performance enhancing supplements and substances.  Intelligent and carefully selected supplementation can help. 

Lastly, ensure that kids take a daily probiotic.  It is an easy way to uphold a healthy lifestyle.  Probiotics help digestion, provide protection from harmful bacteria, and strengthen the immune system.

It helps when society promotes and emphasizes the importance of establishing healthy living as young as possible.

Tending to one’s health will decrease chances of chronic disease and future health complications. It’s up to teenagers – with their parents’ help – to make this a reality and fully embrace a healthy lifestyle. Their future depends on it.

Steve Bernardi is a registered compounding pharmacist and co-owner of Johnson Compounding and Wellness Center in Waltham.