Pediatrics does not end when the child becomes difficult to carry
The adolescent years bring questions that are less visible than fever: puberty, body image, food, inactivity, sleep, screens, aggression, peer influence and communication.
Screen use is a family system
A teenager’s phone cannot be discussed in isolation from sleep, school, exercise, meals, family routines and the adults’ own device behaviour.
Obesity is not solved by shame
The goal is health, not humiliation. Food environment, activity, sleep and sustainable family changes matter more than repeated comments about appearance.
Puberty conversations should begin before embarrassment
Age-appropriate, factual conversations around body changes are easier before the changes become a source of confusion or secrecy.
Questions parents commonly ask
- How much screen time is too much?
- When should puberty be discussed?
- How should we approach adolescent obesity?
- When is behaviour more than a phase?
Videos related to this concern
Read next: Development & adolescent health
Search the complete library →Breathing difficulty, seizures, bluish colour, altered consciousness, severe dehydration or a child who appears seriously unwell require prompt in-person medical assessment.