Health and Safety Tips for Teens

Hidden musculoskeletal injuries caused by prolonged sitting, real risks caused by the lack of boundary in online social interaction, and emotional problems are regarded as "adolescent affectation" and dragged into mental illnesses. The rest of the common sense, such as traffic safety and drowning prevention, has been heard by everyone since childhood, but the probability of getting into trouble is much lower than these three.

Last year, I did a summer youth physical examination in the community. Almost 60% of the children aged 12 to 16 had problems with high and low shoulders and straight waist. In severe cases, there were signs of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Many children and parents are confused. They say they haven't been dropped or bumped, and they usually sit upright. How come something is wrong? Oh, by the way, sitting upright doesn't mean everything will be fine. I saw a little girl in the third grade of junior high school who always kept her back straight when doing homework. She sat for 6 hours a day to answer questions for 3 months in a row, but she was still diagnosed with lumbar curvature. Doctors from the Department of Sports Medicine concluded that if the bones are not completely calcified before the age of 18, maintaining the same posture for more than 90 minutes will cause irreversible damage to the spine that is three times higher than that of adults. Of course, many elders think that "children's bones are soft, and the pain will be gone in two days." This is not completely wrong, but if you frequently have shoulder and back pain, or walking with uneven legs, don't force yourself to go to the hospital to take an X-ray that costs tens of dollars. It is safer than anything else. The most practical advice I give to my children right now is that whether they are doing homework or watching videos, get up and stretch the door frame after sitting for an hour. It is much easier to use than a massager that costs hundreds of dollars.

After all, physical problems can be detected when they hurt. Sometimes, when you encounter pitfalls on the Internet, by the time you realize it, trouble has already come to your door. Not long ago, a request for help came from the police station in the area. A girl in the second grade of junior high school was chasing Korean stars. She sent her side profile photo, school dismissal time, and the address of her usual milk tea shop to a fan group of hundreds of people. She was squatted by male fans in the same school for more than half a month. Her photos were also photoshopped into indecent images and circulated everywhere. It took almost a month to finally suppress the matter. The two sides have very different opinions on this matter. Many parents say that "just confiscate the mobile phone and that's it. If you don't let them play with it, there won't be so much to do." However, colleagues who do psychological research on adolescents have also mentioned that confiscating mobile phones across the board will push children to hidden corners of the Internet. The less they are allowed to speak out, the more willing they are to reveal their innermost feelings online, which makes it easier for their privacy to be exposed. When we talk to children about online safety now, we rarely say "no Internet access". We just mention three simple standards: don't share your specific address, school class, and real name in public social groups. Don't post photos of school uniforms, school badges, and neighborhood landmarks. If strangers want to take private photos, they should block their contact information directly. By doing these three things, you can basically avoid 90% of the risks derived from the Internet.

More hidden than these visible risks are the "little emotions" that many people don't take seriously. Last week, a boy who was a freshman in high school came for consultation accompanied by his mother. He said that he couldn't sleep for three months in a row and had a headache that made him unable to lift his head in class. His parents had always scolded him that "he is just lazy and doesn't want to go to school. There are too many things in adolescence." After going to the hospital for a checkup, he was already feeling moderately anxious. Controversy about the psychological problems of teenagers has never stopped. The older generation always said, "We didn't have enough to eat at that time and we didn't have so many problems. It's just that today's children are too pretentious." However, according to the 2023 National Youth Mental Health Survey, the detection rate of emotional disorders among 14-18 year olds is close to 20%. It is really not something that can be covered up by "pretentiousness". There is no need to think of psychological problems as a scourge when it comes to psychological problems. If you can’t get motivated for two weeks in a row, eat and sleep irregularly, and don’t want to do things that you liked before, don’t force yourself to do it. Talk to the school’s psychology teacher first. Even if you just complain for half an hour, it is better than holding it in.

In fact, to put it bluntly, these tips are not complicated principles. They are practical tips that we have accumulated from dealing with children and parents every day. Just like I often tell the children who come for consultation, if you are playing games and you know how to glance at the health bar from time to time, you should also pay more attention to your body and emotions. Teenagers are the time to run around and play boldly. Pay more attention to these small details and don't let small problems turn into big troubles. That's better than anything else.