-
Young men shouldn't ignore risk of testicular cancer
Originally published in The Ottawa Citizen September 20, 2004 Original Title: The Testes of Time Young men rarely see their family doctor (if they have one). There is a tendency to think that nothing can really go wrong in your late teens or 20s. Yet there is one cancer in men that occurs exactly when…
-
Helping vegetarian teens thrive
Increasing numbers of adolescents, especially girls, are adopting vegetarian diets. Their reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet vary from animal welfare, health benefits and food safety to environmental and sociopolitical concerns. Surveys suggest that approximately 8% of adolescents in the United Kingdom and 6% of older elementary and high-school students in the midwestern United States…
-
Keep a well-stocked teen toolkit (part 2)
Your 15-year-old patient wants to go on the Pill. Why? What does she stand to gain from a sexual relationship? Does she fear her boyfriend will dump her if she does not take this step? If so, what does this imply about respect and the state of their relationship? What will they do if she…
-
Keep a well-stocked teen toolkit (part 1)
Understanding adolescent developmental hurdles can help you explain to parents how they can meet the challenges of guiding their sons and daughters
-
Help teens tune in to their true selves
Last week’s column discussed the stages of adolescent development and the normalcy of many of the problems our children face as they progress towards adulthood. The Adolescent Toolkit’s design is to foster the development of age-appropriate behaviours and decisions and promote independence based upon respect, honour, dignity and integrity.
-
Adapt parenting to your teen's development
More than 80 per cent of adolescents do not experience stereotypical “hellion” lifestyle and behaviour. There is adolescent angst, but often there is an identifiable cause, such as parental strife, divorce, laissez-faire approaches to discipline, lack of parental involvement and support, lax enforcement of the rules of the house, poor sense of self and depressive…
-
Students stressed, desperate for help
One of the more difficult aspects of answering teen questions is the degree of angst and pain that spills from them. Although the majority of our teenage children progress through adolescence to become well-adjusted, productive adults, a substantial minority is desperate for help during life’s stressful events.
-
Survey shows youth drug use up in past decade
In this continuing series based on teens’ questions asked at Canterbury High School, today’s column looks at the drug issue, which is all too often intertwined with the issue of sex among teenagers.
-
How do you get herpes?
How have society’s changing attitudes about sexual activity and responsibility affected our teenage children? The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, a U.S. non-profit group promoting sexual abstinence outside marriage, lists the devastating toll laissez-faire attitudes have had on our teens.