Posts for tag: teens
Parents Need To Talk To Their Kids About Sexting At A Young Age, Psychologist Says.
In the New York Times (3/12, Subscription Publication) “The Checkup” blog, Perri Klass, MD, spoke with “Sheri Madigan, a psychologist who was first author of a large study on digital sexual activity published at the end of February in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.” Madigan recommended that parents begin talking to their children about sexting at a young age. For teenagers, “parents need to be willing to consider the idea that sexting may happen in the context of healthy relationships, Dr. Madigan said.” Still, parents “need to be willing to go over more problematic scenarios, including what happens if the relationship ends, especially if photos have been sent.”
- From the American Academy of Pediatrics from 2009
With more and more children using cell phones to call, text and send images, parents should consider the risks to kids who use them for illegal and regrettable purposes.One such activity is “sexting,” the sending of text messages with pictures of children or teens who are naked or engaged in sexual acts.One in five teens participates in “sexting,” according to a nationwide survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. The emotional pain it causes can be enormous for the child in the picture as well as the sender and receiver — and often involves legal implications.
Parents should talk with children about sexting before a problem arises and introduce the issue as soon as a child is old enough to have a cell phone, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The following tips from the AAP can help parents have a conversation with children about sexting:
Ask kids about the issue, even if it has not directly impacted the community.
Gauge your child’s understanding of sexting and then offer an age-appropriate explanation. Alert younger children with cell phones who do not yet know about sex that text messages should never contain pictures of kids or adults without their clothes on, kissing or touching each other in ways that they have never seen before. For older children, use the term “sexting” and give more specific information about sex acts they may know about. For teens, be specific that “sexting” often involves pictures of a sexual nature and is considered pornography.
Make sure kids of all ages understand that sexting is considered a crime in many jurisdictions. In all communities, there will be serious consequences if they sext, possibly involving the police, suspension from school and notes on their permanent record that could hurt their chances of getting into college or finding a job.
P.S. It is my understanding that even being the passive recipient of an unsolicited sexting message is a Federal crime with serious consequences. Advise your child NOT to delete the communication but to show you and tell you about it. Even when "deleted" the communication may yet remain on the hard drive of the electronic device. Should you and your child find yourself in this situation, get formal advise from an attorney about what to do.
Dr. T
5 facts about vaping to talk about with your teen
Would you recognize an e-cigarette if you saw it? Not all e-cigarettes look alike, and vaping is easy to hide.
Electronic nicotine devices can look like a pen, a computer memory stick, a car key fob or even an asthma inhaler. Instead of inhaling tobacco smoke from a cigarette, e-cigarette users inhale vapor from liquid “e-juice” that has been heated with a battery-powered coil. This is called vaping. The juice is flavored and usually contains nicotine and other chemicals.
E-cigarettes are unhealthy and addictive. They’re also wildly popular among kids.
Pediatricians have been hearing from patients that they and their friends use e-cigarettes, according to Susanne E. Tanski, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, a tobacco prevention expert from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among youths. New research estimates that about 3 million adolescents vape.
Here’s what you should know about teen vaping trends:
- Kids might use different words to talk about e-cigarettes and vaping.For example, “Juuling” is a popular word among Dr. Tanski’s patients to describe using a brand of e-cigarette. About one in four kids who use e-cigarettes also tries “dripping.” Instead of using a mouthpiece to vape, they drip the liquid directly onto a heat coil. This makes the vapor thicker and stronger.
- Kids can order “e-juice” on the internet. The legal age to buy e-cigarettes is 18 years, but online stores don’t always ask for proof of age.
- E-cigarette juices are sold in flavors like fruit, candy, coffee and chocolate.Most have the addictive ingredient nicotine. The more kids vape, the more hooked they become. “This is potent stuff,” Dr. Tanski said.
- Kids who vape just once are more likely to try other types of tobacco.Their developing brains make it easier for them to get hooked, according to a recent study.
- E-cigarettes may not help people quit using tobacco. Some adults use e-cigarettes when they want to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. While a recent report found e-cigarettes are “less toxic” than cigarettes, most people who use e-cigarettes do not quit using cigarettes.
The healthiest option is for parents and their children to quit, according to the AAP.
Study Finds Physically Active Kids Less Depressed
Children who regularly engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity — the type that leaves them sweaty and out of breath — are less likely to develop depression, according to a new study by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and NTNU Social Research.
“Being active, getting sweaty and roughhousing offer more than just physical health benefits. They also protect against depression,” said first author Tonje Zahl, a Ph.D. candidate at NTNU.
Although previous studies have found a link between physical activity and a lower risk for depression in adults and young people, the same effect has not been studied in children until now.
For the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers followed hundreds of children over four years to see if they could find a correlation between physical activity and symptoms of depression.
They examined just under 800 children when they were six years old, and conducted follow-up examinations with about 700 of them when they were eight and ten years old. Physical activity was gauged with accelerometers, which served as a type of advanced pedometer, and parents were asked about their children’s mental health.
The findings showed that physically active six- and eight-year-olds showed fewer depressive symptoms when they were examined two years later, suggesting that physical activity may protect against the development of depression.
“This is important to know, because it may suggest that physical activity can be used to prevent and treat depression already in childhood,” said Dr. Silje Steinsbekk, associate professor in NTNU’s Department of Psychology. “We also studied whether children who have symptoms of depression are less physically active over time, but didn’t find that to be the case.”
Steinsbekk emphasizes that these results should now be tested in randomized studies where researchers can increase children’s physical activity and then examine any potential link to lowered depression.
Previous findings in adolescents and adults have shown that sedentary lifestyles — like watching television and computer gaming — are associated with depression, but the NTNU children’s study found no correlation between depression and a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, depressive symptoms did not lead to greater inactivity.
The takeaway message to parents and health professionals is to be proactive in facilitating physical activity among children, which means allowing and encouraging children to get a little sweaty and breathless.
According to the findings, limiting children’s TV or iPad screen time is not enough — go for a bike ride or engage in outdoor play. Children need actual increased physical activity to reap the mental health benefits.
HRC’s report, Growing Up LGBT in America, is a groundbreaking survey of more than 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17. It provides a stark picture of the difficulties they face — the impact on their well-being is profound, however these youth are quite resilient. They find safe havens among their peers, online and in their schools. They remain optimistic and believe things will get better. Nevertheless, the findings are a call to action for all adults who want ensure that young people can thrive.
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Despite AAP warning, health food stores endorsed sports supplements for teens
More than two-thirds of surveyed sales attendants at health food and vitamin supplement stores endorsed creatine and testosterone boosters for teenage customers, despite explicit recommendations against pediatric use by both the AAP and American College of Sports Medicine.
Categorized as dietary supplements, popular sports performance supplements such as creatine and testosterone boosters do not adhere to FDA drug requirements regarding safety and efficacy outcomes. Since many teenagers do not receive information about supplement use from physicians or dietitians, there is growing concern over possible misinformation disseminated by retailers.
“Teens commonly get information about muscle supplements from health food stores and are most likely to purchase these supplements from these types of stores,” Ruth Milanaik, DO, from the division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System, and colleagues wrote. “Because many health food stores present their employees as ‘expert(s) in health and wellness products’ (GNC) or ‘knowledgeable, courteous and extensively trained Health Enthusiasts ready to help with all your health and wellness needs’ (Vitamin Shoppe), teenagers may be led to believe that they are receiving the best possible advice.”
In the first investigation to determine the extent to which health food stores would recommend or sell creatine or testosterone boosters to young teens, the researchers identified 244 health food stores in the U.S. and inquired via telephone which supplements sales attendants would recommend to build muscle strength.
Identifying himself as a 15-year-old male high school football player interested in strength training, the principal researcher, Maguire Herriman, inquired about what supplements the sales attendant would recommend. If the sales attendant did not initially recommend creatine or testosterone booster supplements, Herriman would specifically ask whether they would recommend these supplements, and if they could be purchased without an adult.
Of sales attendants contacted, 164 (67%) recommended creatine for a 15-year-old boy to increase muscle strength, and 24 (9.8%) recommended a testosterone booster. Ninety-four (38.5%) recommended creatine without prompting, but only 2 attendants recommended a testosterone booster without prompting.
However, following prompting, 70 (28.7%) of sales attendants recommended creatine and 22 (9%) recommended a testosterone booster.
Further, 181 (74%) sales attendants said a 15-year-old person could purchase creatine on his or her own, and 101 (41%) stated the same for a testosterone booster.
“Supplements, such as creatine and testosterone boosters, can pose significant health risks if used by young adolescents,” Milanaik and colleagues wrote. “Until additional safeguards are introduced by retailers, states, or the FDA, pediatricians should counsel all adolescents, not just teen athletes, about the risks associated with supplement use.” – by Kate Sherrer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.