Parent Corner: Resources for Supporting the Teens in Your Life

This is a segment from Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic’s monthly newsletter. Subscribe here to receive this information directly to your inbox each month!

Join us for our monthly meet ups at the Kachemak Bay Campus from 5:30-6:30 on the third Monday of each month to discuss these topics in person.

Common Sense Media (May)

Summer reading is always a fun challenge. Try adding some books from Common Sense Media’s Book list to help young people understand the importance of consent. Because prevention education isn’t just for the school year! Common Sense Media is a nonprofit that puts kids’ safety and well-being first in the digital era. Check out their website for recommendation lists of all things’ media!

988 Lifeline – Mental Health & Crisis Support (April)

Are the young people in your life familiar with the 988 Lifeline? We know that many young people struggle with mental health these days, and access to support is often challenging. The 988 Lifeline is a free, confidential, 24/7/365 service for mental health support. Whether someone is in crisis or just needs to talk, counselors are available and ready to help. Services are reachable via phone call, text, or chat. Share information about the 988 Lifeline with your preteens/teens or better yet, call 988 together to learn what the experience is like or review their “What to Expect” page together! Proactive efforts can help your teen feel more comfortable reaching out if they or a friend need support in the future, and reassure them that you really care about their mental health.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine (March)

There is a lot of vaccine talk in the news these days, and while all vaccines are important, there is only one that prevents cancer! Thanks to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine, children can be protected now from developing 6 different types of HPV-related cancers in the future. Recommended starting at ages 9-12 with two doses. Learn more from the American Association of Pediatrics or schedule an appointment with your child’s healthcare provider.

Resource Highlight: Anonymous Questions (February)

We all have questions about our bodies – especially as we go through periods of drastic change like in puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. There is a constant wondering – is what I am experiencing normal? Luckily, we now have the internet around to provide an answer. Unluckily, that answer isn’t always credible or correct.

To help teens navigate this issue, KBFPC Teen Health built a feature into our website that gives teens the opportunity to ask Anonymous Questions, just like in our health classes, and receive trustworthy answers from our education team!

How does it work? Teens can submit questions 100% anonymously through the “Ask A Question” button on one of our webpages. KBFPC gets the question via email with no name or identifying information attached, our team does some research, vets the sources, and posts an answer to the question on our blog. Teens can peruse the blog and read answers to their own questions and their peers! Check it out and share it with the young people in your life. Extra credit: you could even use some of the questions/responses as conversations starters with your own family

Resource Highlight: Healthy Children Podcast (January)

Have you jumped on the podcast wagon? Are you struggling to find medically accurate and updated health information for your young person?

Queue up Healthy Children: A Podcast for Parents from the AAP! Host, Edith Bracho-Sanchez, MD, FAAP, is a primary care pediatrician and a parent. Join her as she interviews experts in the field about things like birth control basics for parents, raising boys in the digital age, vaccines, and eating disorders in young people.

Body Image & Literacy (December)

Parents often say books are one of the most effective tools for talking with young people about their bodies, relationships, and health. If you’re looking for a new option, check out this workbook on body literacy designed for ages 7-12: My One-of-a-Kind Body: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for Me by pediatrician Whitney Casares.

Through a diverse cast of campers at the fictional Camp Corazón, kids and tweens meet characters who reflect their own experiences and broaden their empathy skills. Bright illustrations and fun body facts keep readers engaged while reinforcing one core message: all bodies are good bodies—especially their own.

Stay tuned. Our February “Birds, Bees, and Beyond” meet up will explore this book and the first 10 attendees will receive a free copy!

Check out WBUR’s interview with the author.

Resource Highlight: Amaze.org (November)

Ever struggle to strike up a conversation about mental health, puberty, or online safety with your kid? Well, Amaze is here to help. They have hundreds of lively videos that you can watch with your child or on your own. Their videos are used widely in the health education world, and two of their videos recently received the Silver Davey Award!

See below for links to their award-winning videos and some parent playlists showing the breadth of their resources.

• Parent Playlists 
• What is Undetectable HIV? Explaining U=U
• Why Do Periods Exist?? Your New Musical Menstruation Anthem

Media Literacy (October)

Young people spend a lot of their time online. For many of them, it is the first place they go for information on intimate questions like: “how do I tell if someone has a crush on me?” Unfortunately, the world wide web doesn’t always have young people’s best interests in mind.

For example, take the so called “Manosphere” that has been referenced with recent events. Influencers have created this section of the internet to sell products and feed young men specific ideas of masculinity in ways that can be “frequently tied to racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, and in some cases, violent rhetoric” (Mashable).

Because of teens’ easy access to anything online, it is incredibly important to engage in thoughtful conversations around media literacy with young people. Asking open-ended questions that encourage them to consider what they are consuming can help youth develop critical thinking skills.

Check out these resources on how to talk to your teens about what they are seeing online:

• Building Healthy Relationships with Media: A Parent’s Guide to Media Literacy
• How to talk about influencers with your teens
• How to talk to your young son about the Manosphere

How Are Teens Doing? (September)

Check out “Are the kids alright?” with teen psychologist Lisa Damour. Listen here.