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Top things Filipino parents with adolescents should monitor for back-to-school season

Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and psychological stages wherein the child develops into adulthood and as such there as some big changes that will be noted, in the body and how the adolescent will relate to the world.

In my 10 years’ experience as a Family Medicine Practitioner, I have encountered instances wherein parents bring their adolescent kids for various issues like:

Poor eating habits and nutritional deficiencies. Adolescents who are always busy during the whole school year sometimes don’t get the proper nutrition because of lack of time and their preoccupation with other activities. Some kids who are not used to eating healthy foods will prefer fast food items.

Inability to gain height especially in the male. Parents are worried when classmates are taller than their son. I point out to them that height is determined genetically and by nutritional health. Stunting (failure to increase in height) will need to be addressed by doing hormonal tests and I suggest them to see Endocrinologist for screening.

Dr. Marites Pulma 1
Dr. Marites Pulma

Easy fatigability and body weakness. Some parents bring their kids to me because they easily get tired or they are always feeling fatigued. They have inability to cope with the school activities and lack the energy to finish their home works or projects. There is sometimes a high demand for school children, but these should not be ignored. Simple blood tests will show if there is anemia because of low iron levels, vitamin deficiencies or hormonal problems like hypothyroidism.

Recurrent infections and skin problems. Adolescents may encounter recurrent respiratory infections because of exposure to other kids who are sick or urinary tract infections which is common especially I hot weather when they don’t hydrate themselves or urinate when they need to. Acne may be common in the teenager because of hormonal changes, poor diet and hygiene.

Preparation is key

As a Family Medicine Practitioner, the pieces of advice I would like to give for Filipino parents in preparation for their adolescent kids are:

Goal setting. Health goals should be set like achieving normal weight, eating more nutritious meals, regular exercise etc.

Self-motivation. Encouraging adolescents to motivate themselves by rewarding themselves when health goals are achieved.

Self-monitoring. Adolescents should be given the responsibility to check and monitor how they are doing with their health goals like how their exercise routine is coming up, are they eating fruits and vegetables, etc.

Maintaining open lines of communication. Parents and their adolescent kids should have free communication so that health concerns will come to the attention to the parent and readily addressed.

Dr. Marites Pulma is a Family Medicine Practitioner at Prime Specialist Medical Center, an multi award winning medical institution based in Dubai with multiple locations in Al Nahda, Al Qusais, Barsha Heights, Burjuman, Jumeirah, Mizhar, Reef Mall, Sheikh Zayed Road, Deira, and Motor City with a specialist center located at King Faisal as well as another center based in Ajman.

PSMC 1

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