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School’s out for the summer! As your teen rejoices for the much needed break, it shouldn’t mean that they sleep the day away or sit in front of a screen for hours. How can parents and caregivers keep teens motivated to stay active during the dog days of summer? Dr. Rebecca Unger, a nutrition expert at Lurie Children’s Wellness and Weight Management Clinics and pediatrician at Northwestern Children’s Practice, provides some solutions to keep your teen engaged.
For teenagers, a healthy dose of physical activity and participation in family and community activities is a prescription for illness prevention, obesity prevention and reducing risk-taking behaviors. Summertime, when the livin’ is easy, is the time to take advantage of potentially more flexible routines and easier access to physical activity resources to encourage teenagers to enjoy activities both independently and with others (friends and family members).
There are obvious physical changes in teenagers but there are also less obvious changes taking place in the brain. It is helpful to understand these changes so parents can help optimize the teenage experience. Teenage brains develop for different people at different speeds. Part of the brain (the part that helps regulate mood, impulse control and the ability to think through ideas and plan ahead) does not develop fully develop until potentially 24 years of age. Parents can help teenagers to think through their plans. Some teenagers might need gentle reminders about getting out of the house to be active. Having a conversation with your teenager about how much help he or she welcomes is a good way to work together.
Teenagers should follow the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans released in 2015 by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Children who are 6 – 17 years old need at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity, including muscle and bone strengthening activities. Older teens and adults need 150 minutes of moderate physical activity/week and muscle strengthening at least 2 days/week. For additional information about how much physical activity a teenager should get, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics site healthychildren.org.
Without school, there's a lot more downtime during the summer and that can seem daunting. Here are some ideas on ways to encourage your teen to stay active:
Take time to talk about obstacles and how to deal with them. Help your teenager come up with goals that are realistic for him/her, your environment, and your family schedule. Consider using a reward system (some people call that bribing, but it can also be thought of as behavior modification). Even better, engage your teenager to help identify realistic goals to work on, help him/her focus on a plan to work on the goals.
It is important for family members to be role models for each other to learn about being active and engaged. This includes parents as well as other caregivers and siblings. Families learn a lot from each other. It is part of that prescription for healthy living.
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