God's Design for the Highly Healthy Teen

內容簡介

“The doctor will see you now” -- Getting the most out of this book -- The start of adolescence : What is a highly healthy teen? : What is health? ; What is a highly healthy teen? ; What role does spirituality play? ; The Bible’s perspectives on health ; A teen’s four wheels of health—physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual -- Assessing your teen’s health : The four wheels of health ; The physical wheel: exercise, rest, nutrition/substance abuse, and growth/immunizations ; The emotional wheel: love/respect, affirmation/application, media/learning, and boundaries ; The relational wheel: relationship with parents, family relationships, connectedness, and performance in school/extracurricular activities ; The spiritual wheel: personal relationship with God, prayer, spiritual instruction, and spiritual activity ; What the whole picture looks like -- We have ignition: preparing for the puberty years : Navigating the explosive growth of the puberty years ; Communicating with your teens about what to expect during the physical changes ahead ; Staying one step ahead ; Suggested ways to get “The Talk” started ; The “precocious puberty” trend ; The river of hormones now running through their bodies ; Learning to speak their “love languages” -- The physical wheel : You’re two-thirds of the way there : An important teen health issue—driving at age sixteen ; Breaking down your teen’s growth ; How boys’ bodies will change in the next few years ; Body hair, voice cracking, and even breast development in boys ; How girls’ bodies will change in the next few years ; Breast development, pubic hair, and acne ; Variations in the onset of puberty ; Physiological changes ; “Short stature” children -- Finding the right examination room : Making the transition from a pediatrician to a family doctor ; Remaining your teen’s health care quarterback ; The doctor’s role—your teen’s health care coach ; Understanding the G-U-E-S-T acrostic as it relates to health care ; How to find a doctor who respects your worldview and role as parents ; Doing background checks and asking around ; Getting the most out of your health care plan ; The right relationship between a doctor and a teen patient ; What happens during boy’s physicals ; The importance for your teen boy to learn how to do testicular cancer self-examinations ; What happens during girl’s physicals ; Why pelvic exams are not medically necessary during the teen years ; What to expect if a pelvic exam is performed ; The importance for your teen girl to learn to do breast self-examinations ; Why and what immunizations are still needed during the teen years -- The cut look and cutting looks : Searching for the “cut” look ; The steroid shortcut ; The truth about supplements like creatine and ephedra ; Sources of unbiased testing information regarding nutritional supplement ; Couch potato kids ; The expansion of obese teens in this country ; Determining your teen’s Body Mass Index ; The principles of good nutrition ; The differences between “good” calories and “bad” calories ; Eating principles to live by ; Fast food and fast calories ; Parents who don’t cook ; The importance of eating dinner together ; The latest teen trend: gastric bypass surgery ; What to look for regarding anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorders ; A pyramid for nutritional health -- For appearance’ sake : When your teens think they’re ugly ; Building self-confidence and self-image ; The importance of the way teens look ; When teens want to do something crazy to their hair ; What to do about the rising popularity of tattoos and “body art” ; Piercing eyebrows, navels, and places you don’t want to know about ; Fads that are way out there—tongue splitting and toe shortening ; Why girls are having breast augmentation ; Cosmetic surgery ; Clearing up acne -- The emotional wheel : The ABC’s—and D’s—of nurturing your teen : The ABCD’s of emotional health ; Affirmation ; Blameless love ; Connectiveness ; Discipline ; Six keys to protecting your teens through discipline ; Parenting styles -- Escape into ecstasy : The rise of rave parties ; Designer drugs: ecstasy and GHB ; Drugs and date rape ; The use of household goods as inhalants ; What to say to your teens about drugs ; When you suspect drug use ; All about Ritalin and Adderall ; How a family doctor can help ; Testing teens for drugs ; The power of the prescription pad for teen depression ; Why teen smoking is the gateway to drug use -- Home channel network : TV’s everywhere in the house—including teens’ bedrooms ; Messages broadcast in sitcoms and movies ; Why you need to know what’s in the movies and videos your teen is watching ; Why teens who watch a lot of TV don’t exercise and don’t interact with the family ; Why teens are online more than they watch TV ; The pervasiveness of internet porn ; How today’s media cuts into teens’ sleep ; The importance of rest for growing teen bodies -- The relational wheel : Family matters : The importance of being a role model for your teen ; The link between the health of a family and the health of its children ; Why fathers have never been more important ; Moms will always remain a strong influence ; Healthy steps for dysfunctional families ; Healthy steps for single-parent families ; Healthy steps for blended families -- How clear is your teen’s connection? : Connecting in the family : The importance of family mealtimes ; Home activities for parents and teens ; Connecting with friends ; Supporting your teen’s friendships ; Connecting through school and extracurricular activities ; Connecting with the workaday world -- Getting all hot and bothered : Why teen sex is such a high-risk behavior ; Why it’s physiologically easy for teens to pick up sexually transmitted infections ; The explosion in STIs in the last twenty years ; What your teen needs to hear from you about sex ; How everyone is not doing it ; The importance of the father-daughter relationship with respect to premarital sexual activity ; The “safe sex” message teens hear in school and in the media ; What I say to teens about the importance of waiting ; What I say to teens who’ve jumped the gun ; A hot topic: masturbation ; Guidelines for dealing with masturbation ; What about homosexuality? -- The spiritual wheel : Building on the solid rock : The door to a relationship with God is open for only so long ; The vast importance of parental spiritual input ; Nurturing your teen’s spiritual health ; The concept of true spirituality ; The power of a youth group ; Letting teens find their purpose in life ; Why Christian summer camps are great ; What absolute truth is and why it’s essential ; The need for more Christian teens to believe in absolute truth ; Plugging your teens into contemporary Christian music ; Making church a “safe harbor” for your teen -- Transitions : Into the clubhouse turn : Preparing your teen for the independence and the responsibility of adulthood ; The role you should play in health matters when your child moves out to attend college or get that first apartment ; When your children go off your health insurance plan ; Finding health insurance for your young adult ; The importance of a physical before your child gets married ; Letting go.