Tag: healthy organizations

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A Place for Teens to Seek Answers

KidshealthIs there any danger to smoking e-cigarettes? How can I lessen my test-taking anxiety? How much sleep do I need? Why is my voice changing? These are questions that teens desire to ask, but often are afraid to do out of fear of embarrassment, or even just inaccessible resources.  TeensHealth is a friendly and honest website for teenagers to explore information regarding physical and emotional health topics. Available 24 hours a day, pediatricians and other medical experts offer the straight answers to any and every health question that teens may have. The site also offers a tab for kids, and another for parents. KidsHealth and TeensHealth was created from the nonprofit organization Nemours. In 1936, philanthropist Alfred I. DuPont started Nemours with the vision of improving the health and spirit of children. Also, the Nemours Center for Children’s Health Media has consistently delivered health education in a comfortable and engaging manner.

The TeensHealth site is easy for young people to navigate. While creating a supportive environment where teens can ask literally anything, they are combating the fear that often accompanies asking a health practitioner or parent face-to-face. They are also bringing the power of cultivating health literacy into their own hands. Categories on the site include food and fitness, sexual health, drugs and alcohol, and many other healthful and helpful areas. The site covers most frequently asked or sought questions, while leaving plenty of opportunity for Q&A.

A favorite tool offered on the site is the Making a Change goal tracker. This feature breaks down goals into manageable steps, so teens can track their progress and celebrate successes. The featured articles are also a huge hit, and you can even listen to them via the audio tool. This month, a relevant article elaborates on Seasonal Affective Disorder, which most teens feel but do not understand the origin. Videos are also a plenty. Check out this informative video on bullying, created by seven teens with true-life experiences.

The parent tab offers similar categories to kids and teens, but fosters relative responses. Topics vary and include how to communicate with your teenager, fire safety plans, and even recipes. The KidsHealth in the Classroom tab offers teachers guides and lesson plans from preschool through grade 12.

This is such an empowering opportunity for teenagers to search, discover, learn, and take action for their own physical and emotional health. Now is the time for them to cultivate power and spread what they know. After all, they are our future mentors and leaders.

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Daily Dose of Strength

teen daily strengthteenDailyStrength was launched in June of 2011. Pushed to fruition by Emmy award-winning talk show host, Dr. Mehmet Oz, HealthCorps and ShareCare, this web-based teen community offers young people ages 13 to 19 years old, a space of ongoing support. The site offers members an opportunity to voice their health concerns among the holistic categories of mind, body, and lifestyle. Blogs, discussions, facts, and personalized journals provide a safe and supportive space to explore, to question, and to receive answers. Topics are endless, and include accurate information on specific diseases, time management skills, the dangers and repercussions of cyberbullying, nutrition, and physical fitness.

The site was created at the same time Dr. Oz’s book “YOU: The Owner’s Manual for Teens: A Guide to a Healthy Body and Happy Life” was released. The book, which is a branch of previous tailored versions, includes the expertise of Dr. Oz, Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Ellen Rome, and Dr. Oz’s daughter, Zoe. teenDailyStrength is an extension of the book’s knowledge, vision, and goal. Healthy teens have an all-encompassing potential to become healthy adults, and with the vast number of unhealthy adults in the United States, it is time to bridge the gap between healthy teens and healthy adults.

What makes this site ingenious, is not only the moderation and accurate input from some of the leading experts in health, but the contributions, questions, and answers from those who are currently walking and talking in teen shoes. Positive power in numbers is evident through interactive support groups on topics as common as dental fear. While some are given a safe space to express their anxiety over having a cavity filled, others are given accurate information on the steps of a routine checkup. Some even offer tips, like wearing earphones to provide a distraction from the sound of dental tools. More serious topics include grieving after the death of a family member, drug dependency, and suicidal thoughts.

From a Healthy Teens, Healthy Schools perspective, we see major implications for implementing teenDailyStrength strategies within our schools. How can we promote a community of empathetic teens, who feel safe to share their health fears and successes with one another? Perhaps this can be done within our classrooms, via buzz groups, or sporadic opportunities to openly discuss hot topics. It can mean the creation of a student-interactive support tab on your website as a teacher. There are various ways to deliver the message that teens are not alone in their health concerns, struggles, and successes. The more we suppress teen voices, the less health literate they become. Everyone needs an outlet for expression, and no teen is ever alone on the long drive ahead. Let’s create a nurturing space for our teens to talk to one another in their schools, and let’s welcome the downpour of empathy, knowledge, and change that awaits.