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Visit our Health Hub at https://healthhub.cpcmg.net to learn more about your child’s health, wellness, and development. Available 24/7!
To encourage your child to be involved in keeping themselves healthy, we now have health education materials designed specifically for teens.
Click here to see these materials on our Health Hub and share them with your adolescent.
Your Growing and Changing Child and Family
Encourage your child to be part of family decisions. As they grow, give them more chances to make their own choices.
Work together to solve problems and think things through.
Help your teen explore activities that interest them.
Praise them for their efforts and achievements, not just how they look.
Set rules for media use and help them balance screen time with physical and other activities.
Talk with their teachers if you have concerns.
Guide them as they take more responsibility for their schoolwork and time management.
Let your child’s primary care provider know if you are worried about your living or food situation. Community agencies and programs such as SNAP can also help.
Talk openly about puberty, relationships, and family values— these conversations help build trust.
Healthy Behavior Choices
Be a positive role model for your child.
Use clear, consistent rules and discipline to help them understand boundaries.
Talk about peer pressure and how to handle uncomfortable situations. Let them know it’s always okay to ask to come home if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Some families use a special text code to signal this.
Praise your teen for making healthy decisions about sex, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
Share your views on alcohol and drug use. Keep prescription medications and alcohol locked-up.
Discuss the dangers of smoking and vaping, including serious lung damage. Exposure to smoke can lead to more frequent and long-term breathing problems.
Get to know their friends and their friends' parents. Stay aware of where they are and what they're doing.
Talk about safe dating and healthy friendships. Healthy relationships are built on respect, care, and listening.
Your Child’s Feelings/Mental Health
All teens feel stress sometimes. It can come from school, family, work, or social activities.
If your child seems sad, anxious, irritated, hopeless, or angry for more than two weeks, talk to their healthcare provider.
If you're worried about suicide or self-harm, go to the emergency room (ER) or urgent care right away.
Helpful access and crisis lines:
San Diego County 888-724-7240
Riverside County 951-686-HELP (4357)
Crisis Text Line: 741741 – text any word (like HELP or TALK) to start a discussion.
You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (text 988) at any time to speak with someone immediately.
For more resources and helpful information, visit our behavioral and mental health webpage here.
Sexual Health
During the teen years, hormonal and physical changes often lead to stronger sexual feelings.
Every teen experiences this differently, and the timing can vary.
Some teens may start exploring their gender identity and sexual orientation. Learn more about these topics here.
Support your teen with open and thoughtful conversations with your teen about these topics.
Talk about sexual consent—it means all participants clearly agree to a sexual activity every time.
Make sure they understand how to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
STIs are spread by having oral, vaginal, or anal sex with someone who already has a STI – they might not have any symptoms. The only sure way to prevent pregnancy and STIs is by not having sex.
Condoms and other forms of contraception should be used to help prevent pregnancy. Only condoms help prevent the spread of STIs.
For more information call the STI Hotline:
English: 1-800-227-8922
Spanish: 1-800-344-7432
TTY: 1-800-243-7889
Please reach out to your teen’s primary care provider if you would like additional resources or support.
Encourage your teen to talk to their healthcare provider if they are sexually active or thinking about it.
Nutrition
Encourage a variety of healthy foods to support strong bodies and positive body image. If your child struggles with body image, talk with them thoughtfully and reach out to their healthcare provider for support.
Teens need more calories than younger children. Make sure they have access to healthy snacks to fuel their growth.
When possible, eat meals together as a family. This helps build good eating habits and can strengthen family connections.
Encourage breakfast—it helps with focus, memory, problem-solving, and learning.
Water should be their main drink. Sweet beverages are not needed and not recommended.
Important Vitamins and Nutrients:
Calcium: Builds strong bones. Commonly found in dairy products, sardines, broccoli, kale, and enriched orange juice.
Vitamin D: Helps keep bones strong and supports many body functions. Many teens don’t get enough. Found in milk, yogurt, cheese, salmon, tuna, mushrooms, egg yolk, and fortified cereals.
Iron: Keeps blood healthy, helping with growth and development. Found in eggs, chicken, leafy greens, red meat, beans, and fortified grains like breads and cereals.
Physical Activity
Encourage at least 1 hour of physical activity every day.
Being active doesn’t have to mean playing an organized sport—it can be walking outside, biking, swimming, or other fun activities.
The goal is to build lifelong habits for staying active, enjoying recreation, and learning healthy ways to compete.
Support trying different activities instead of focusing on just one sport. This helps prevent injuries by allowing time to rest between seasons.
Let their healthcare provider know if a sports form needs to be completed.
Electronics and Social Media
Limit daily screen time to less than 2 hours total.
Turn off screens at least 1 hour before bedtime to help with better sleep.
Discuss safe and respectful behavior online.
Waituntil8th: A growing movement by parents and child psychologists to delay personal smartphone use for a child until 8th grade. Learn more here: Wait Until 8th
A Family Media Plan can help parents be aware of their teen’s online activity. Learn more here: Family Media Plan
Safety
You and your teen should always wear a lap and shoulder seat belt in the car.
Encourage safe and responsible driving habits – including limiting the number of people in the car and cell phone use.
Do not tolerate substance use and driving.
Provide a helmet and other protective gear for activities like biking, skating, skiing, snowmobiling, and horseback riding.
Do not allow your teen to ride ATVs.
If you keep a gun in your home, store it unloaded and locked, with the ammunition locked in a separate place.
Use a hat, sun-protective clothing, and sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) on exposed skin. Limit time outside when the sun is strongest, between 11:00am and 3:00pm.
Dental Care
Schedule dental visits every 6 months to keep teeth healthy.
Encourage brushing twice a day and flossing once a day.
Give a fluoride supplement if recommended by the dentist.
Ask your child’s healthcare provider for dentist recommendations.
To find Medi-Cal dental clinics near you:
Call: 1-800-322-6384
Visit: Denti-Cal Website here.
Immunizations
Routine vaccines during the teenage years include:
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)
First dose at age 10, second (and final) dose 6 months later.
If first dose is given after turning 15, a total of 3 doses are needed.
Meningococcal ACWY
First dose at age 11-12.
Second (and final) dose at age 16.
Meningococcal B
Usually given senior year of high school, but the first dose can be given any time after turning 16.
Second (and final) dose 6 months later.
Influenza and COVID-19
New versions of the vaccine every year.
Usually available in the fall.
Common side effects from vaccines
Fever - can be treated with acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Soreness - can be treated with ibuprofen or cool compress.
Swelling at injection site - can be treated with cool compress.
For more details, visit the immunizations section on our Health Hub.
📚 References
This publication was adapted from American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures Patient Education Handouts.
Reviewed by: Patient Education Committee, AR D.O., TT D.O., SL M.D., Adolescent Committee