Teen Health 411

Thank You - Grand Rounds 6.31

2010-04-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jenni Prokopy at Chronic Babe for hosting Grand Rounds 6.31 this week and including a farewell (for now) from Teen Health 411. This week was a wonderful read - so many ladylike stories! A great theme! Photo credit: Mukumbura

Wellness Assessment for Youth To Get Organized (WAY2GO!) - Update

2010-04-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

The Wellness Assessment for Youth to Get Organized! (WAY2GO!) is an online survey for teens that asks questions about their nutrition, exercise, sexual, safety, substance use, emotional & social health and provides an immediate individually tailored report with resources. The report also links them to free Vive health coaching that teens can use to develop a personal wellness plan that...

Farewell (For Now) From Teen Health 411

2010-04-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

It is with a very heavy heart that I tell you that there will be no more posts on Teen Health 411 as of 4/30/10. To help you find things easier though, here is the index of the posts through 4/22/10, by topic! Thank you for being a reader! Abortion (6) When Denial is Not the Best Choice Unwanted and Teen Pregnancy in the Media Supreme Court Restricts Womens Reproductive...

Amazing Cakes in The San Francisco Bay Area

2010-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

I just had to share the blog address for this amazing young woman and her cake business! The tut cake you will see is the one she made for my daughter's 18th birthday! http://cakedoneright.blogspot.com/

Thank You - Grand Rounds 6.30

2010-04-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you Øystein Horgmo at The Sterile Eye for hosting Grand Rounds 6.30 this week and including a post from Teen Health 411 about the 21st Century Teenager. This week was a beautiful experience - creative and interesting! Great job! Photo credit: Ed Bierman

21st Century Teenager

2010-04-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Reminding us all that teens are so much more than at-risk! Photo credits: 1. mikebaird 2. San Jose Library 3. marcus_in_ny 4. richardmasoner 5. hoyasmeg 6. Asheboro Public Library 7. NIOSH 8. U-g-g-B-o-y-(-Photograph-World-Sense-) 9. Muffet

Teen Birth Rates Fell Two Percent 2007-2008

2010-04-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although the teen birth rate in the United States rose in 2005 and 2006 but apparently fell two percent between 2007 and 2008. Preliminary data for 2008 suggests 41.5 births per 1,000 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19, down from 42.5 in 2007. Although this is definitely the right direction, I have to point our however that...

And Then She Was 18 Years Old

2010-04-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

Do you remember back when your kids were little, older women would smile at you and say "they grow up so fast, enjoy every second," and you thought they were nuts? Well sadly, they were right! I blinked and my eldest was turning 18 years old. The beautiful little cherub-faced child who would rub my cheek while she nursed, married me one day in the garden, wanted to be the first president of the...

Picking A College - The Last Step

2010-04-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

Finally all of the letters are in, the visits are done and now comes the most difficult decision for your teen - where will s/he spend the next four years of his or her life? If it helps, here are some reflections on how we moved from six acceptances to one "Class of 2014 Facebook Page." This has been a tough two weeks for our family. First, we moved past wishing she had not applied to so many...

Thank You - Grand Rounds 6.29

2010-04-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you Dr. Emer at Parallel Universes for hosting Grand Rounds 6.29 this week and including a post from Teen Health 411 about the increasing amount of violence in movies rated PG-13. This week was really diverse - self-hypnosis, sexual addiction, emergency kits, narcotic abusers, scars - and the description of Cushings Disease was great! Photo credit: doug88888

Get Yourself Talking and Tested - GYT (About STIs)

2010-04-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

I am loving the return of the campaign from MTV, the CDC, Kaiser Family Foundation and Planned Parenthood that urges young people to start talking about sexually transmitted infections (STI) and to get themselves tested! In response to the fact that people under 25 are the most likely to be infected with a STI and the high rates of those infections, this collaboration is encouraging the increase...

More Violence in PG-13 Movies

2010-04-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Annenberg Public Policy Center recently reported that the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) rating system has allowed more violent content into movies rated PG-13 but continues to limit sexual content more strictly. In 1984 the PG-13 category was developed to warn parents about films with content that might be inappropriate for youth under age 13, but today those movies include...

Book Review: the Body Scoop for Girls

2010-04-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover, which is not always a bad thing. As in the case for the Body Scoop for Girls: A Straight-Talk Guide to a Healthy, Beautiful You (2010) by Jennifer Aston, MD. If when you see Dr. Ashton's picture on the cover you think, "I'd love to talk to her" or maybe "great shoes," then this is the book for you. Dr. Ashton is an incredible resource about the...

Thank You - Grand Rounds 6.28

2010-04-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Thank you Dave Munger at The Daily Monthly for hosting Grand Rounds 6.28 this week and including a post from Teen Health 411 about the link between school lunches and obesity. This week's focus was nutrition and fitness, which never gets old .. although we do! The variety of posts was amazing - from poop to six degrees of separation - never a dull moment! Photo Credit: dezinerfolio

Skin Cancer - Very Scary Increase in Rates

2010-04-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

Boomers may have a new reputation - according to new cancer research, they are five times more likely to be diagnosed with malignant melanoma - the type of skin cancer that kills the most people. The incidence rates of melanoma have risen from 7 cases per 100,000 people in the 1970s to 36 cases per 100,000 today. The rising rate corresponds to the increase in tanning during the 1970's when...

Drugs and Alcohol on College Campuses

2010-04-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

There are many things your children take into consideration when selecting a college and unfortunately the amount of drugs and alcohol used on a campus needs to be one of those considerations. Your child may want to avoid the drinking and drugs or like to get a lot of sleep and a "wet" campus will make that tough. On the other hand, your child may be looking forward to drinking, and you need to...

We Can Help Us - Suicide Prevention

2010-04-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds. In 2006, 4,189 people between the ages of 15 and 24 died by suicide, and for each of those, it is estimated that 100-200 other people attempted suicide. A new national public service announcement campaigned is designed to reduce suicide and suicide attempts among teens in the United Sates. The campaign is a joint project...

Grand Rounds 6.27

2010-03-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Evan Falchuk at See First Blog hosted Grand Rounds 6.27 this week and although he did not include a post from Teen Health 411, there are some very interesting (and candid) opinions on health care reform that I thought my faithful readers might be interested in. After reading the posts included, I am not sure who won, whether the reform is a good thing or not, but change is change and everyone...

School Lunches Linked to Obesity

2010-03-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

No surprise there! Research from the University of Michigan suggests that say one in three middle school youth who regularly eat school lunches is obese or overweight. They are also more likely to have higher cholesterol levels than kids who bring lunches from home! The study included 1,076 middle school students who completed questionnaires about what they ate and how much physical activity...

2010 Best States for Teen Drivers

2010-03-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

The April issue of U.S. News & World Report will carry a story about the best states for teen drivers as part of a campaign to raise awareness for teen driver safety. The ratings are based on state driving laws and road conditions to determine how much a state is doing to promote safe roads, as well as government statistics on teen driving. The best states for teen drivers are lead by these...

Mixed Gender Dorm Rooms

2010-03-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

It is not your parent's college dorm experience! In the 60's we thought co-ed dorms were rebellious, but now my daughter has the option of having a co-ed dorm room! It seems that at several dozen schools in the United States, including Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin, Clark University, and Stanford University, students can opt to share a room with anybody of either sex! How...

Thank You - Grand Rounds 6.26

2010-03-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you Dr. RL Bates at Suture for a Living for hosting Grand Rounds 6.26 this week and including a post from Teen Health 411 about feminine product marketing. This week's Grand Rounds, with it's wonderful theme celebrating women, was so very interesting! I am exercising as we speak - and loved the video about exercise - but have to start my work day I think! Photo credit: Ed Bierman

Feminine Care Rebellion - Period!

2010-03-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Women are talking about their bodies and their health - which is good! Right? You would not think so if you are following the debate around the new UbyKotex.com marketing campaign, which I think is brilliant! The new products are targeting younger women, have color and humor, and make fun of the tampon and period ads we have seen for years -- that relate to absolutely no known experience of any...

Young Men's Knowledge About Birth Control

2010-03-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

Or lack of! People, people, people - if you do not understand how birth control works, you should not be having sex! What happened to the old days when the boyfriend was expected to sit through the video and conversation about all the types of birth control during the appointment at Planned Parenthood? A friend sent me a link to the funniest video of men (trying to) explain how birth control...

Student Loans

2010-03-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here is an important topic around our house these days ... as the college acceptances dribble in with scholarships and grant offers that all seem to leave about $20k a year for me to cover. All I can say to those of you with younger kids is, "double your college saving plan!" A good education may be the most important investment a parent can make in a child's life and seems to have become one...