Teen Health

The Teen Health section of our blog is a resource where we share information to help people learn about issues relating to the physical and emotional health of teens. Along with doctors, psychologists, educators and nutritionists, local teens and preteens contribute to some of our teen health blog posts. You can also visit PAMF’s award-winning Teen Health website for a wide range of content. We invite you to join us on the PAMF Teen Health Facebook page and to connect and learn more about teen health, relationship and wellness issues.

WAY2GO! PAMF Goes Mobile With Teen Health

March 6, 2012

If you want to help teens learn lifelong health, wellness and organization habits, how do you reach them? Through their favorite mode of communication – their cell phones.

With that in mind, the PAMF partnered with RallyOn, a Silicon Valley-based online and mobile health application developer, to create an online health and wellness program – called Wellness Assessment for Youth to Get Organized or WAY2GO! – designed specifically for teenagers.

Teenagers start by taking a confidential, online wellness assessment that creates an immediate, individually tailored report with links to health and wellness resources from PAMF’s teen website. Once teens have completed the health assessment they are linked to RallyOn’s free health coaching service that helps them work on daily health goals highlighted in their report such as getting more sleep and exercise or eating better. This engaging tool helps teens develop a personal wellness plan that includes activity challenges and health tips delivered through text messaging.

Prompts to get more sleep, exercise or eat better arrive via text message or email.

The program launched in March, 2011, and now is active in several local high schools as well as a few in Ohio and Wisconsin. So far, 370 people have taken the WAY2GO! teen version. The young adult version just finished beta testing and will be live by April 2012, with a preteen version (that will require parents to register youth) coming within the year.

More than 250 teenagers from Santa Clara County high schools participated in a six-month pilot test of WAY2GO!, funded by a grant from The Health Trust, a local nonprofit organization that aims to advance health and wellness in Silicon Valley.

Today there are more than 75 new users a month, and PAMF has started training nutritionists and doctors on how to use the tool with their teen patients.

“We received wonderful feedback from the teenagers who participated in the WAY2GO! pilot program – they loved this innovative approach to managing their health,” says Nancy Brown, Ph.D., a PAMF education manager and WAY2GO! project director.

The WAY2GO! pilot program has already received nationwide recognition. In March, 2011, it was awarded the 2011 Hilary E.C. Millar Award for Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Health Care by the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

{ 0 comments }

Competitive Sports & Teens: A Good Challenge or Too Much of a Good Thing?

February 7, 2012

At first glance, having your teen join a year-round competitive sports team may seem like the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone – he or she has no time to turn into a couch potato hooked on texting and Facebook, and also has the opportunity to excel in a sport he or she loves. But before your teen signs up, you should know that teenagers’ bodies are particularly vulnerable to injury as their bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints are going through their most rapid period of growth. The intensity and “no pain, no gain” philosophy of many competitive, year-round sports teams can result in your teen sustaining serious injuries, some with lasting effects.

[Read more...]

{ 1 comment }

Help Your Child Learn to Manage Stress Effectively

January 17, 2012

Soccer practice, ice skating lessons, piano recitals, birthday parties, a full homework load and several school projects on the horizon – our kids’ lives can make the busiest Silicon Valley exec’s schedule look manageable. In today’s competitive environment, where kids feel they need to excel at so many different things, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Although stress is part of our daily lives, parents shouldn’t feel powerless. One of the most important things you can do is to help your child learn to manage stress effectively, so that he or she can live a healthy, balanced life – and as a parent of a child with activities, you can, too.

[Read more...]

{ 0 comments }

A Parent’s Guide to Teen Depression

December 21, 2011

Although being moody and irritable is often normal for teenagers, depression is not simply a side effect of growing up. Depression is a serious medical condition that affects approximately one in five teens before they reach adulthood and is the leading cause of teen suicide. Parents often feel concerned and unsure of what to do when they think their teen may be depressed.  Talking with your teens regularly, listening to what they have to say, and keeping up with their activities, go a long way to preventing and identifying any depression they may be experiencing.

[Read more...]

{ 4 comments }

Reflections on Special Occasions and Connection

November 28, 2011

Most holidays can be traced back to an important transition in the seasons, or life. Birth (spring), harvest/success (fall), coming of age (summer), and death (winter).

We live with the same rhythm: The coming of morning, daytime, evening, night, and this rhythmn provides structure and support, as well as connection with others.

We all need that connection – just look at the social networking boom. We tend to look for people who are similar to us, experiencing something with us, who have kids the same age as ours,  or who enjoy the same things we do. I cannot help wondering if this search for connection is a consequence of not focusing on the most obvious things (the rhythm) we share with everyone on this planet.

Feeling connected lends itself to appreciating others and ritualizing their role in our lives — this includes special occasions. When possible, it’s nice for special occasions to include each member of the family contributing something to the food, music, and an activity focused on whatever is being celebrated. A special meal, greens or flowers from the yard, a house filled with a favorite music, and kind words make each person feel special, and most importantly, appreciated.

This blog post is contributed by Nancy Brown, Ph.D.,  a nationally-recognized health educator and adolescent development expert at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF).

{ 0 comments }

Transitioning from Pediatrics to Adult Primary Care

November 14, 2011

Among the many changes you experience as you become a young adult is the transition to an adult primary care doctor. Your pediatrician will care for you until you turn 18, so it’s a good idea to start thinking about who will replace your pediatrician before then. Look for a doctor who you are comfortable with and trust, and will be honest with you about any health risks you may have. You also want that person to be easy to reach, as you may be heading off to college.

[Read more...]

{ 1 comment }

Laptop Ergonomics

November 10, 2011

Laptop and desktop computers—what’s the difference? Aside from the fact that laptops can go with you wherever, whenever and desktops must remain in one location, the main differences come from their set-ups. While all of the parts of a laptop are connected, desktops use multiple parts like an external keyboard, mouse and monitor that can be positioned to support the user’s posture.

With a desktop, the screen is placed at or slightly below eye level (so your head is level, with the eyes looking slightly down) and the keyboard is positioned so you can comfortably type without straining you wrists, elbows or shoulders. Desktops are an ergonomic dream, since they come with a keyboard, mouse and monitor that can be properly adjusted and stay put.

With laptops, however, the screen and keyboard cannot be adjusted, so laptops can become an ergonomic nightmare. While convenient, laptops can also cause physical problems down the road if used incorrectly.

Laptop ergonomics looks at how, where and why we use our computers and determines the most effective and least damaging way we should use them to avoid injury.

Learn more in these PAMF website pages we created to help with laptop ergonomics:

What is Ergonomics?

Tips for Ergonomic Laptop Use

Ergonomic Risks of Laptop Use

Additional Resources:

Computer Vision Syndrome

Laptop Ergonomics Video (Demonstrates how to make your laptop use ergonomic.)

This Teen Health blog post contributed by Jenny McElaney, college writer, and Lisa Voge-Levin, ergonomic consultant. Reviewed by PAMF Family Medicine Physician Elizabeth Lee, M.D. 

{ 0 comments }

How Much is Too Much for a Child’s Backpack?

August 26, 2011

As some school districts consider swapping heavy textbooks for e-reader tablets, local health experts understand the impact an overloaded backpack can have on a child — stiff necks, sore shoulders and aching backs. But parents can help prevent these possible pains in a few simple ways. [Read more...]

{ 0 comments }

Keeping Kids Balanced in the Age of Electronics

August 17, 2011

The media has been around for decades, but the plethora of technology options today dwarfs what was available even 20 years ago. Between television, MP3 players, video games, computers, cell phones and portable electronic devices, kids’ lives could easily be consumed by electronic devices.

According to a study published by the Kaiser Foundation, kids ages 8 to 18 years old average eight hours of media time every day. We talked to Dr. James Ferrara, a pediatrician at member of the Mills-Peninsula Division of PAMF, about some of the benefits and pitfalls of this exposure.

[Read more...]

{ 1 comment }

Talking to Your Teen about Sensitive Issues

May 11, 2011

As your teen becomes more independent and increasingly ventures out into the big, wide world, what’s the best way to make sure he or she stays safe? There’s one simple but invaluable step parents can take – talk regularly with your teen. Research shows that teens who talk to their parents about difficult issues such as alcohol, drugs and other risks, make safer choices. Although talking about sensitive topics with your teen is easier if you started these types of conversations when your child was young, it’s never too late to begin the dialog.

[Read more...]

{ 0 comments }