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• Ways to encourage healthy habits

As a parent or guardian of a girl, you want her to appreciate and care for her body. Of course, it’s not always easy to get girls to eat right, exercise, stay safe, and develop other healthy habits. But you’ve already taken a great step by looking for helpful information. This section of girlshealth.gov covers questions about girls’ bodies inside and out. Keep reading to learn about dealing with puberty, periods, sex, sleep, backpacks, and much more.  

Remember, the pre-teen and teen years are times of huge changes — physically, emotionally, and socially. Your love and support can really help the girls in your life!

Talking with your teen or pre-teen about some topics — from body piercings to birth control — can be tough, especially when she may be feeling pretty independent. Make sure to let her know that you take her opinions seriously. And make sure to say what you expect from her. Believe it or not, when asked whose opinion they care about most, most teens will name their parents. Learn more about ways to connect.

This section of girlshealth.gov will help you and your girl deal with:

• Body basics
• Puberty
• Reproductive health
• Sex

Ways to encourage healthy habits top

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Here are some tips to help you teach girls to respect and protect their bodies:

• Give girls the chance to practice taking care of their own health. Encourage them to write down questions for their doctor. As they get older, see if they can make their own appointments, too.
• Discuss coping skills for difficult situations. For example, help a girl practice what she might say if someone offers her drugs. (Check out some smart answers.)
• Help girls develop a sense of consequences. Talk about the possible results of certain behaviors, like having sex or driving drunk.
• Model the behaviors you want the girls in your life to copy. Work together to stay well, like cooking a yummy — and healthy — meal.
• Set safety rules. Applaud positive behaviors, like wearing a bike helmet. Discuss any problems, but avoid any harsh criticisms and punishments that might just make her feel bad about herself.
• Be loving and supportive. Have patience with things that may not seem important to you (like a pimple), but that seem very important to a teen.
• Teach girls not to be ashamed of having problems with weight, self-esteem, or other areas of their lives. Encourage them to talk to you, a doctor, or another trusted adult.

Don’t give up when you feel challenged or overwhelmed by raising a girl. Remember, you’re helping her become a confident, strong woman who knows how to take care of her health and her future.

Featured articles

1. 5 Ideas for Better Sleep
2. A Parent's Guide to Surviving the Teen Years
3. About Birth Control: What Parents Need to Know
4. Body Piercing
5. Connecting With Your Preteen
6. Encouraging a Healthy Body Image
7. Growth Charts
8. Hygiene Basics
9. Medical Care and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old
10. Questions and Answers About Sex
11. STDs
12. Talking to Your Child about Menstruation
13. Talking to Your Child about Puberty
14. Tampons, Pads and other Period Supplies
15. Tattoos
16. Your Child's Weight
17. Your Daughter's First Gynecological Exam

Websites

1. 4Parents.gov – Your children need you to help them make smart choices about their health and future. 4Parents.gov is a guide to help you and your pre-teen or mid-teen discuss important, yet difficult, issues about healthy choices, abstinence, sex, and relationships.
2. Body Image and Your Kids – Womenshealth.gov has created a special section on our website to help you learn how to develop a positive body image and influence your children to do the same.
3. Choose Respect – Visit the Choose Respect website for information on understanding teen dating violence; healthy dating relationships; home, school, and community activities; and resources including videos, podcasts, and downloadable documents.
4. girlshealth.gov: Body – We have created the girlshealth.gov Body section to help adolescent girls learn more about some of the unique health issues and social situations they will encounter during the teen years. This section provides information, resources, and links to help to your daughter learn more about her body.
5. Parent Information – This website includes information about a range of health topics, such as child safety, immunization schedules, and developmental milestones.
6. Tools for Parents (Copyright © Planned Parenthood) – Addressing certain topics with your children can be difficult for the both of you. This resource can make it easier to talk to your daughter about topics like sex.

Publications

1. Are You an Askable Parent? (Copyright © Advocates for Youth) – As a parent or caregiver, it is very important for you to be askable, meaning that young people see you as approachable and open to questions. This publication offers advice to parents on how to be askable, including tips on how to become more confident about your ability to discuss sexuality.
   
   http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D475%26Itemid%3D336
2.   HPV Vaccine: What You Need to Know – This fact sheet discusses the benefits and risks of getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. It also defines HPV and talks about who should get the vaccination, who should wait, and where you can get more information.
   
   http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-hpv-gardasil.pdf
3. Menstruation: Preparing Your Preteen for Her Period (Copyright © Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) – This publication gives guidance to parents on how to discuss menstruation with their daughters. Most of the information provided is based on studies conducted to determine what girls themselves want to know.
   
   http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/menstruation/FL00040
4. Puberty: What to Expect When Your Child Goes Through Puberty (Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians) – This publication contains information on puberty, the signs that your child is going through puberty, and what you can do to help your child.
   
   http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/parents-teens/445.html
5. Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (Copyright © American Psychological Association) – This report explores how sexualized images of girls and young women in the media affects girls in real life.
   
   http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx
6. Teaching Your Daughters Self-Esteem (Copyright © Love Our Children USA) – Teach your daughters how to love their bodies and have high self-esteem. Tips are provided to parents on how to build their children’s confidence.
   
   http://www.loveourchildrenusa.org/parent_teachgirlselfesteem.php
7. Teens and Sexual Health Myths (Copyright © Center for Young Women's Health) – Many teens will turn to the Internet to find out information about sex, but is this information accurate? This video addresses common myths that should be discussed with your child.
   
   http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/sexual_health_myths.html
8. Ten Tips for Parents of a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender Child (Copyright © Advocates for Youth) – This publication consists of parent newsletters to assist you in your unique role as the primary sexuality educator of your child. Five newsletters are available for every age/grade level, pre-school through grade twelve. Each issue provides relevant, age-specific sexuality information, useful strategies, communication hints, and suggested resources to support you in your efforts.
   
   http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D173%26Itemid%3D206
9. There's No Place Like Home...for Sex Education (Copyright © Advocates for Youth) – This publication offers parent newsletters to assist you in your role as the primary sexuality educator of your child. Five newsletters are available for every age/grade level, pre-school through grade 12. Each issue gives relevant, age-specific sexuality information, useful strategies, communication hints, and suggested resources to support you in your efforts.
   
   http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D589%26Itemid%3D177

Organizations

1. Advocates for Youth
   
   http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/
2. American Academy of Family Physicians
   
   http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home.html
3. Center for Young Women's Health
   
   http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/
4. Division of Adolescent and School Health, CDC
   
   http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/about/index.htm
5. KidsHealth
   
   http://kidshealth.org/
6. Office of Population Affairs, OPHS, OS, HHS
   
   http://www.hhs.gov/opa/
7. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
   
   http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx%3Fpid%3D194%26srcid%3D-2

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Content last updated January 11, 2011

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