How to Identify a Teen at Risk

Are you living with a teen at risk? The teenage years are the ones where people tend to want to test your boundaries the most. Most teens make mistakes during this phase of growth but you want to help them prevent making the type of mistake that can cause them years of emotional or physical damaged. This can happen if your kid gets involved in a car accident, school shooting or a robbery of any kind.

A teen at risk will be demonstrating behaviors such as underage drinking, drug use and abuse, smoking, unprotected sex, excessive dieting, eating disorders, driving while under the influence, rough-housing with friends and driving while talking on a cell phone.

You might be thinking that smoking cigarettes is not so dangerous for your kid but studies have shown that hat “nicotine is the number one entrance drug into other substance abuse problems.” Teens who smoke each day are more likely to use other drug substances.

Teenagers may experiment with drugs, both legal and including marijuana, cocaine, crack, and methamphetamines, which are particular lethal for teens at risk. Sometimes the temptation is in your own home. Some adolescents sneak into their parents’ medicine cabinets to use drugs prescribed for someone else. Others abuse cough medications and codeine medications for a “high.” Many of these medications also contain speed which ironically, can help improve studies but is not recommended as a way of doing so!

It is too easy to deny that your kid might be having sex. Whether or not your teen will choose to sleep with their boyfriend or girlfriend, it is our job to educate them about the transmission of disease and/or potential pregnancy. Loss of self-esteem and destructive behaviors can arise when teens start engaging in sex at too early an age because they cannot handle the feelings that come with so much attachment.

Dangerous dieting is also a killer. When weight loss reaches a certain level, or the child cannot stop obsessing about food and weight, a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa may be warranted. Boys and girls that suffer from this disease have a distorted body image and may think that they are “fat,” when they are becoming sicker and thinner.

A certain amount of risk-taking is normal in a child but when it comes to their health and basic rules of the road make sure that they are well educated and prevent them from experiencing the often life=-long consequences of making one big mistake while young.

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Nutritional Needs of Play Age Kids

If you have a kid between four and ten years old make sure they get enough meat and dairy. Otherwise they could be malnourished.

Milk is an essential source of calcium (which helps build strong bones and teeth in children), milk and milk products such as yogurt; low-fat cheese and calcium-fortified orange juice are foods that are central to healthy eating for children.

Children 4-8 years old should have 1 to 2 servings of milk a day, while girls and boys between the ages of 9-13 should have 3 servings of dairy products daily.

Meat is an important source of iron, which provides kids with the energy they need on a daily basis. Opt for leaner choices for your children's diet such as skinless chicken and turkey.

Children between the ages of 4-8 should have 3 to 4 ounces of meat daily, while both boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 13 should consume 5 ounces of meat per day.

Make sure that half of your children's intake of grains comes from whole grain sources, such as whole wheat pasta and rice. These types of grains contain complex carbohydrates that sustain energy over a number of hours.

Four to eight year olds require 4-5 ounces (which is the equivalent of a serving) of grains a day.

Kids should consume a variety of different vegetables such as legumes, broccoli and carrots, since vegetables are a great source of vitamin C and will boost the immune system.

Vegetables are also an excellent source of fiber for children,

Children 4 to 8 years old should have 1 to 1 and ½ cups of vegetables daily, while girls ages 9 to 13 should consume 2 cups of vegetables daily.

Boys from 9-13 years of age should consume 2 and ½ cups of vegetables per day

Fruits should be a central component of any child's diet, as they are a great source of vitamins like vitamin A, which helps promote healthy eyes and skin.

Fruits like apples, blueberries and oranges are especially important for children's health as they help boost kids' immune systems. Children 4-8 years old should have 1 to 1 and ½ cups of fruit per day. Girls and boys between the ages of 9-13 should have 1 and ½ cups of fruit per day.

The key is to keep the diet in balance. The child should not be eating the same thing every day and nutritionally the child's needs should be well addressed in the three square meals he or she eats a day.

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