Be A Good Role Model

Girls and Body Image Your daughter may have outgrown the nursery rhyme that describes her as “sugar and spice and everything nice.” Instead, she might be worried about all of that sugar making her fat. Some studies suggest that body image ideas begin in children as young as 3.1 But parents—particularly moms—can have a positive impact on their daughters’ body image when they model healthy attitudes toward their own bodies.
Prescription for Harm More than 2.2 million! That’s the latest estimate of how many youth in the United States aged 12 to 17 used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in the past year to self-treat physical or mental distress, improve appearance or performance, catch an energy wave, or simply mellow out. In 2004, more than 900,000 12- to 17-year-olds had begun using prescription pain relievers non-medically within the past year. Parents—rightly concerned about alcohol, marijuana, and illegal drug use among young people—may be surprised that the number of teens who begin abusing painkillers has grown for 10 years in a row, rising sevenfold to 1.2 million in 2003.
Be My Neighbor! Forming Neighborhood Safety Nets Your community and your neighbors—you live in one and next to the others. And because you and your family spend so much time in and around your neighborhood, you want to make sure your loved ones are safe. So, how well do you know your neighbors? While they live nearby, neighbors sometimes can be so busy they rarely find an opportunity to speak to one another, let alone get to know each other. In today’s world, many people move to new places, work far from their homes, and communicate over long distances. As a result, they may have little attachment to the place where they live. But finding time to build relationships with the people who live close to you and your family can help your child in many ways.
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk "Walking is the best possible exercise," said Thomas Jefferson. Our third President believed at the turn of the 19th century what science confirms today—walking can improve physical and mental health.
Steroid Precursors Can Block Teen Athletes From Their Goals Steroid use disqualifies many professional and Olympic athletes, but it is quietly attracting teens who want to boost their strength, speed, or stamina. Parents and coaches often are not aware of the lure and availability of supplements for high school—and even middle school—students.
Teachable Media Moments How many times have you walked into a room just in time to hear an underage TV character make a comment about drinking beer? How many times have you changed the channel when a character joked about “smoking a joint” or having a “one-night stand”? Television, music, and advertisements flood children with messages that may go against what that they have heard at home and school. Some messages teach kids that alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs are dangerous; other messages make drugs and alcohol look cool.
Laughing Is Good for You and Your Child If your doctor said, “Take two jokes and call me in the morning,” would you laugh? Let’s hope so. Laughter is good for you and your child’s mental and physical well-being.
Divorce Counseling May Help Prevent Teen Substance Abuse Most children of divorced parents in the United States (40 percent of all children) adjust well to their parents’ split. But 20 to 25 percent of children have trouble dealing with their parents’ divorce. Many of the problems these children have can last into their adult years. Researchers at the University of Arizona tried to find out whether post-divorce counseling for children helped prevent some negative outcomes of divorce -conduct problems, dropping out of school, substance use, high-risk sexual behaviors, and depression—during the teen years.
Teaching Good Attitudes Through Televised Sports Playing sports can be a great way to teach your children good values, including teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play. But you might find that the good values you try to instill in your child on the playing field—or in other environments—aren't translating well over television.
It’s All in the Family—Mental Health Link Between Parents and Children Findings from the University of Washington’s Kids Count project show that the emotional well-being of children is strongly linked to their parents’ mental health. In turn, parents’ mental health is linked to their children’s emotions and behavior. Troubled children are likely to have troubled parents, and vice versa.
Set a Good Example We all want our children to be decent human beings—to be truthful, caring, law-abiding people. We don’t always remember, however, that children learn as much from our example as they do from our lectures. Our actions need to mirror what we say; otherwise, our children will be confused about what we really mean.
If You're a Parent Who Drinks The effects of alcohol use on those around us are different from those of smoking because there are many more people who drink from time to time, as they see fit, than there are smokers who can stop or start at will. But it isn't necessary to be an alcoholic or become addicted to alcohol to cause problems for yourself or others because of your drinking.
Be a Mentor Do you care about children and teens? Listen well? Want to make a positive impact on youth in your community? Consider being a mentor!
Our Kids Are Watching We've all heard the story of a toddler, who is just starting to talk, blurting out a curse word in front of company, to the undying embarrassment of her parents. Kids are the greatest imitators—they learn what they see from the people closest to them.

Girls and Body Image
Your daughter may have outgrown the nursery rhyme that describes her as “sugar and spice and everything nice.” Instead, she might be worried about all of that sugar making her fat. Some studies suggest that body image ideas begin in children as young as 3.1 But parents—particularly moms—can have a positive impact on their daughters’ body image when they model healthy attitudes toward their own bodies.

Prescription for Harm
More than 2.2 million! That’s the latest estimate of how many youth in the United States aged 12 to 17 used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in the past year to self-treat physical or mental distress, improve appearance or performance, catch an energy wave, or simply mellow out. In 2004, more than 900,000 12- to 17-year-olds had begun using prescription pain relievers non-medically within the past year. Parents—rightly concerned about alcohol, marijuana, and illegal drug use among young people—may be surprised that the number of teens who begin abusing painkillers has grown for 10 years in a row, rising sevenfold to 1.2 million in 2003.

Be My Neighbor! Forming Neighborhood
Safety Nets
Your community and your neighbors—you live in one and next to the others. And because you and your family spend so much time in and around your neighborhood, you want to make sure your loved ones are safe. So, how well do you know your neighbors?

While they live nearby, neighbors sometimes can be so busy they rarely find an opportunity to speak to one another, let alone get to know each other. In today’s world, many people move to new places, work far from their homes, and communicate over long distances. As a result, they may have little attachment to the place where they live. But finding time to build relationships with the people who live close to you and your family can help your child in many ways.

Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
"Walking is the best possible exercise," said Thomas Jefferson. Our third President believed at the turn of the 19th century what science confirms today—walking can improve physical and mental health.

Steroid Precursors Can Block Teen Athletes From Their Goals
Steroid use disqualifies many professional and Olympic athletes, but it is quietly attracting teens who want to boost their strength, speed, or stamina. Parents and coaches often are not aware of the lure and availability of supplements for high school—and even middle school—students.

Teachable Media Moments
How many times have you walked into a room just in time to hear an underage TV character make a comment about drinking beer? How many times have you changed the channel when a character joked about “smoking a joint” or having a “one-night stand”? Television, music, and advertisements flood children with messages that may go against what that they have heard at home and school. Some messages teach kids that alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs are dangerous; other messages make drugs and alcohol look cool.

Laughing Is Good for You and Your Child
If your doctor said, “Take two jokes and call me in the morning,” would you laugh? Let’s hope so. Laughter is good for you and your child’s mental and physical well-being.

Divorce Counseling May Help Prevent Teen Substance Abuse
Most children of divorced parents in the United States (40 percent of all children) adjust well to their parents’ split. But 20 to 25 percent of children have trouble dealing with their parents’ divorce. Many of the problems these children have can last into their adult years. Researchers at the University of Arizona tried to find out whether post-divorce counseling for children helped prevent some negative outcomes of divorce -conduct problems, dropping out of school, substance use, high-risk sexual behaviors, and depression—during the teen years.

Teaching Good Attitudes Through Televised Sports
Playing sports can be a great way to teach your children good values, including teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play. But you might find that the good values you try to instill in your child on the playing field—or in other environments—aren't translating well over television.

It’s All in the Family—Mental Health Link Between Parents and Children
Findings from the University of Washington’s Kids Count project show that the emotional well-being of children is strongly linked to their parents’ mental health. In turn, parents’ mental health is linked to their children’s emotions and behavior. Troubled children are likely to have troubled parents, and vice versa.

Set a Good Example
We all want our children to be decent human beings—to be truthful, caring, law-abiding people. We don’t always remember, however, that children learn as much from our example as they do from our lectures. Our actions need to mirror what we say; otherwise, our children will be confused about what we really mean.

If You're a Parent Who Drinks
The effects of alcohol use on those around us are different from those of smoking because there are many more people who drink from time to time, as they see fit, than there are smokers who can stop or start at will. But it isn't necessary to be an alcoholic or become addicted to alcohol to cause problems for yourself or others because of your drinking.

Be a Mentor
Do you care about children and teens? Listen well? Want to make a positive impact on youth in your community? Consider being a mentor!

Our Kids Are Watching
We've all heard the story of a toddler, who is just starting to talk, blurting out a curse word in front of company, to the undying embarrassment of her parents. Kids are the greatest imitators—they learn what they see from the people closest to them.

* We refer to a child as "him" in some places and "her" in others. We do this for easier reading. All information applies to both boys and girls unless otherwise specified.