News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Teenage boys are increasingly using spa services and tanning salons, and opting for tattoos, hair dyes, and body piercing, according to a new study from Baylor University.

• Dr. John Yoo surveyed 150 boys, average age 14.3 years old, and found that they are under pressure from peers to improve their appearances through such procedures.
  
• Although a majority understand that dyeing hair or using diet pills, tanning booths, and other treatments were not necessarily safe for your health, more boys are deciding to go ahead and use them.
  
• For example, although almost 75 percent of the boys in the survey believe tanning booths are unsafe, nevertheless, 9.4 percent use them.
  
• The number of teenage boys receiving spa treatments such as hair removal has doubled since the early 1990s, Dr. Yoo said.

"I studied what kids are teased about," Dr. Yoo said. "If anyone looks different, people tease you. Probably boys who have acne would become really self-conscious. There are cultural differences, but smooth skin is highly desired, and that may translate into other parts of the body."

This research appeared in the journal Adolescence.

Labels: teenagers, boys, appearance

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Parents of teenagers often struggle with talking to their kids about serious issues. But it can even harder when the teenager is a boy. Parents feel their kids don't want to talk. But Kim Combes, who has been a foster parent to over 40 teenagers, says that's just not true.

"I think that's the biggest fallacy that we have as adults to overcome. The research and the literature show... kids in high schools and junior highs, they want parental involvement. They want structure."

Combes suggests making your conversations with your teenager more relaxed by doing it over a meal, or while you're hanging out and "shooting hoops". The casual atmosphere will make it easier for your teen to open up. Read more at DesMoinesRegister.com.

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Labels: teens, boys, communication

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High school boys who work out or participate in sports are less likely to smoke, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Boys who exercise individually are 12% less likely to smoke; those on sports teams are 18% less likely. The effect did not hold true for girls.

Dr. Daniel Rodriguez, who did the study for the American Cancer Society, said the results were important because most people start smoking in high school.

"If you can make it out of the adolescent period," he said, "you're pretty safe."

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Labels: exercise, boys, smoking

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Boys are just as likely as girls to experience date violence, according to researchers using data from the National Youth Risk Behavior Study.

Almost 14,000 students in grades 9 through 12 were asked, "In the past year, did your boyfriend or girlfriend ever hit slap or physically hurt you on purpose in any way?" Among girls, 9.2 percent answered yes, compared to 9% of boys.

Dating violence is related to drinking, physical fights, sexual activity, and suicidal thoughts, according to the study, which was presented at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

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Labels: violence, boys, girls

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A comprehensive survey of Canadian children ages 13 and 14 years old found that the vast majority had seen pornography over the Internet or watched it as a rented movie. The most dramatic finding was that one-third of the boys told researchers they used pornography deliberately and had seen it "too many times to count."

Boys in rural areas viewed more porn than their urban counterparts.

Sonya Thompson, a graduate student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, was the author of this study.

Labels: internet, boys, porn

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Adolescent boys who have normal blood pressure readings are still three to four times more likely than girls to develop high blood pressure later in life.

Boys who are overweight at age 17 are at particularly greater risk of future high blood pressure, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers looked at data on 23,191 males and 3789 females, following them from age 17 to 42 years old. Only girls who were clinically obese were at increased risk for high blood pressure as adults. Boys had higher readings than girls.
 

Labels: health, boys

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