1) How do I ensure enough nutrition for my adolescent?
Adolescence is a phase of life which forms the foundation of future good health. Ensure you involve the adolescent in the meal planning and cooking. Ensure you follow the Healthy Plate concept.
Healthy Plate Reference
2) How do I ensure my adolescent gets enough exercise and physical activity?
Children learn by observing. Parents need to be physically active so that the child automatically follows suit. Help your adolescent plan their day such that they keep atleast 40-50 minutes for moderate to vigourous physical activity 6 days a week. These can be any sport they enjoy. It can be cycling, jogging, swimming etc. If sometimes outdoors is not possible, encourage them to put on music and dance or follow exercise videos at home.
- Encourage the adolescent to be active through the day.
- Example – cycling to class or school.
- Walking wherever possible.
- Taking stairs instead of the lift wherever possible.
- Helping out in household chores is also great addition to the daily activity and helps make them independent.
3) How do I ensure my adolescent gets enough sleep?
Adolescents tend to have difficulty falling asleep and subsequently they find waking up difficult. This is a natural part of their age. To add to this, in the modern world the advent of the screen complicates matters as many adolescents are hooked to their screens later at night. The blue light exposure further disturbs their sleep pattern as it interferes with secretion of melatonin which is essential for effective sleep initiation.
Plan the adolescent’s schedule such that they get atleast 9 hours sleep at night. They need to wake up 45min to 1 hour before they are supposed to leave home for class or school. Calculate backwards and decide the sleep time. Involve them in planning for this and explain the reason why sleep is very important. A good quality sleep is important for growth and development, for memory retention and rejuvenation of brain and body after the wear and tear of the day. A good sleep leads to improved concentration, improved ability to manage stress and a good immunity. So less sick days. It is overall beneficial to focus on good sleep to improve performance in each aspect of life.
Once you have planned the sleep time, help your adolescent follow meticulous sleep hygiene practices. This means they follow a fixed routine each night so that the brain and the mind calms down and prepares for sleep.
- No gadgets and screen ideally atleast 2 hours prior to sleep. But during exam time a compromise can be made and time reduced to 1 hour.
- Try to read from traditional book rather then a screen during the time immediately before bedtime.
- Follow night rituals such as brushing teeth, washing face or having a quick bath.
- Preparing for the next day by keeping clothes ready, the school bag properly filled as per the timetable etc. This will help them be disciplined and avoid morning hassle too.
4) How do I ensure my adolescent is able to manage stress effectively?
Stress is ubiquitous in today’s world. It is important to teach our adolescents how to handle it effectively. Following a good eating pattern, regular exercise and good sleep will automatically help make them more resilient to stress.
- Include small sessions of deep breathing and pranayama before meals. This will help them regulate their breath which is an effective method of stress management.
- Chanting mantras and reciting shlokas also helps the mind concentrate better.
- Plan regular outdoor activities with them.
- Being close to nature as much as possible is an effective stress management strategy.
5) How do I keep my adolescent away from substance abuse, alcohol and smoking?
In today’s world unfortunately adolescents are exposed to harmful substances and they are prone to misuse of these substances due to peer pressure and the inherent risk taking nature of adolescence. It is important to be a non judgmental friend to your adolescent. The preparation for this should begin in their tween years itself so the parent is able to forge a good relationship with their child. It should enable open communication and the adolescent should feel comfortable discussing everything with their parent. Once this kind of relationship is established it becomes easy to discuss the day and get an idea about the child’s peers.
Gently guide the child away from friends who you feel are not suitable fo the child. Also openly discuss the possibility of use of these harmful substances and explain thie harm on the long run and be supportive of the child always. Do not hesitate to take professional help ( Psychologists, counsellors and psychitarists) if need be.
As a bonus, this open non judgemental relationship with your adolescent will also help the parent navigate rebellious beh