Youth Modules, Module 2 - Healthy Content Guide and Skills Building Journal
Programs:
Youth Program
Resource Type:
Training
Published:
01/06
As a Program Assistant, there are many different ways you impact the health of Youth Center adolescents. This module is designed to provide you with basic information and insight concerning the most common health-related subjects you'll encounter as a Program Assistant. You'll learn how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Activities will help you understand the different health risks facing youth during adolescence. These issues include stress, nutrition and tobacco use. Throughout this Content Guide, you'll be directed to the companion Skill Building Journal. Together, the Content Guide and Skill Building Journal will help you identify opportunities for growth and put your new ideas into practice.
The Healthy Skills Building Journal contains a module checklist for you to use in charting your progress, a pre-training assessment as well as worksheets for each of the activities in this guide.
Table of Contents
- Module 2:
- Healthy
- Content Guide
- Youth Staff
-
Training Program
- 2.1 Introduction 3
- Overview 3
- Take a Closer Look 6
- Self-Reflection 14
- A. Maintaining an External Environment that Promotes Wellness 18
- B. Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect 25
- C. Health Choices Facing Youth 37
- Summarizing Your Progress 55
- Overview
- Healthy adults have daily routines that support a healthy lifestyle. They:
- get enough rest to support their daily activities;
- make nutritious food choices; and
- exercise regularly.
- Healthy adults make decisions in their lives that support maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For example, they know their limit\൳ in eating and in drinking alcohol. They know how to manage stress.
- As a Program Assistant, you model a healthy lifestyle not only in your own daily routine, such as exercising regularly and cho\൯sing healthy snacks, but in how you maintain the Youth Center environment. By making sure that youth have adequate water when 對outside during sports or by knowing the correct procedure for washing your hands, you model healthy habits.
- Because of the relationships you develop with youth, you will find they are likely to trust and confide in you. You will also\ഠbe in a position to notice behavioral changes in youth. As a Program Assistant, it’s your obligation to identify and report ch對ild abuse and neglect. It is your job to help guide youth through risky behavior choices. For example, because of media press\൵re to be thin, you may observe a youth with signs of anorexia. Or who shows behavioral signs of being depressed. Knowing abou對t these issues helps you guide adolescents to resources for help.
- As a Program Assistant, you can help youth learn healthy habits and healthy ways to respond to pressures of adolescence.
- There is another aspect to the topic of health and wellness where a Program Assistant can really make a difference in a young \൰erson’s life. Your communication and guidance skills impact how you relate to young people and how youth relate to adults. As對 a result, you are probably finding that young people want to confide in you and discuss some of the challenges they are facing\ഠas adolescents.
- Puberty is a challenging time for boys and girls. Not only are they dealing with new feelings and emotions, but also their bo\ies are changing, peer pressure is increasing and the media is constantly telling them how thin, pretty or macho they should be對.
- All of these conditions influence the kinds of decisions youth make regarding their health. This is a time when high risk beh\ൡvior comes into the picture. Behaviors such as eating disorders surface. Experimenting with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs c對ome into play. There is also the pressure to become sexually active. Youth want to talk to someone who understands what they \ൡre going through. Without someone to help them understand themselves, stress, depression and even suicide is a possibility.
- Program Assistants are in the Youth Center to assist with programming and develop caring relationships with youth. For exampl\, did you know that the hours immediately after school, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., when parents are often not available to supe對rvise, are the times when young people are most likely to be at risk? That is the time of day they are at the Youth Center! H\re are some ways that Program Assistants can encourage youth to develop habits that promote wellness and a healthy lifestyle:
- 1. Wash your hands often
- 2. Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces
- 3. Handle and prepare food safely
- 4. Keep pets healthy
-
5. Avoid contact with wild animals
- So now that you know how some simple and inexpensive methods can prevent the spread of disease, you can begin to explore other\ഠways to keep the Youth Center environment and youth participating in activities healthy.
- Summer sports and outdoor activities are some of the most enjoyable and fun-filled opportunities Youth Center’s offer youth. \൙ou might take youth on a half-day fall hike or coach a soccer game. Maybe the Youth Council has planned a great carnival for a對 mid-day event on a hot July day. Or there’s going to be a ski trip to the mountains. As a Program Assistant, you need to be \ൡware that even young people can experience heat exhaustion or hypothermia. Next, take a look at the signs, symptoms, preventio對n and treatment of extreme heat and cold exposure.
- Heat and Cold Exposure
- Exposure to extreme heat and cold can make a person ill. But, a person can develop a heat- or cold-related illness even if te\൭peratures are not extreme. The likelihood of illness also depends on factors such as physical activity, clothing and wind humi對dity. Working and living conditions, and a person’s age and state of health also factor into a healthy lifestyle.
-
Once the signs and symptoms of a heat or cold-related illness begin to appear, the victim’s condition can quickly get worse. \ു heat or cold-related illness can be fatal. If you see any of the signs and symptoms of sudden illness and the victim has been對 exposed to extremes of heat or cold, suspect a heat or cold-related illness.
- People usually try to get out of extremes of heat and cold before they get ill. But, some people cannot or do not. Athletes \ൡnd people who work outdoors often keep working even after they begin to feel ill. People who are enjoying themselves, such as 對youth and adults at aquatic facilities, may be unwilling to admit that they are not feeling well and should stop what they are \oing. Sometimes people stand in lines for a long time in the heat waiting to get into a facility.
- Extreme heat
-
What signs of stress might be caused by abuse or neglect?
- What are the indicators of physical neglect?
- When considering whether a youth is a victim of physical neglect, it is important to look for consistencies. Do the indicator\൳ of neglect appear rarely or frequently? Are they chronic (e.g., a youth is much less mature than others his age), periodic (對e.g., a youth is extremely tired after weekends or vacations), or episodic (e.g., a youth came to the program with alcohol on \൨er breath twice while her parent was on temporary duty.) It is important to encourage youth to move towards independence at a\ഠpace that is appropriate for their age and stage of development. Youth need adults to set limits, supervise their activities, 對and guide their behavior. Youth who spend too much time on their own and do not have responsible adults involved in their dail\൹ lives may be victims of neglect.
- What are the indicators of sexual abuse?
- What are the indicators of emotional abuse or neglect?
- What forms of touch are appropriate?
- How do youth programs restrict and monitor access to facilities?
- Besides providing healthy snacks in the Youth Center, you can reinforce good nutrition by the kinds of activities conducted in\ഠthe Youth Center. Consider these:
-
The flip side: eating disorders,
- Media and advertising can affect how youth feel about themselves. A study of teen adolescent magazines conducted over the cou\൲se of two years shows that all articles in these magazines included statements saying that weight loss improves appearance. He對re are some facts about the influence of the media on girls:
- Very few women in the country actually look the way the girls and women in the magazines do.
- Many of the photographs that appear in magazines have been altered to remove any blemishes and imperfections the model may ha\൶e.
- Many of the models have had cosmetic surgery to alter their looks.
- Many of today’s models and actresses adhere to unhealthy diets. They put their lives at risk by starving themselves or takin\൧ dangerous drugs to lose weight. Others become bulimic or anorexic to maintain their body weight.
- As women grow older, they are generally not portrayed in the media as being attractive or sexy, yet many middle-aged and olde\൲ men are.
- There are subtle and not-so-subtle messages that women’s bodies and faces must be perfect.
- Blond, fair features are portrayed as the American ideal of beauty. This can have a negative impact on girls and women of co\൬or.
- The message you want to convey to youth is that physical appearance changes over time, and beauty often fades. The characteri\൳tics that are most important in a person’s life are qualities such as character, integrity, friendship and sound moral principl對es. It’s important to share the facts with youth, particularly girls. By doing this, you can instill that the media portrays \൩mages that are not real. Youth are special just the way they are.
-
By reinforcing good eating habits and exercise (also see the Physical module) you help youth feel good about themselves. You\ഠalso play a positive role in youth accepting their body types. With your guidance, you can send youth down the “right food pat對h”, to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. As for body image, let young people know that developmental change is inevitable. Norma\൬ changes in puberty include weight gain. It also includes temporary out-of-proportion growth. Encourage youth to choose role 對models that reflect a realistic standard about body image. Emphasize the decisions youth can influence or choose about their h\alth.
- Healthy ways to handle stress
- As a Program Assistant you can introduce healthy ways for youth to deal with stress. For example, many people find exercise a \൧ood stress buster. Talking and sharing feelings also helps reduce stress. Listening to music is relaxing to many people. Som對e find that taking a bath or shower is a great way to decompress. Some people feel less stressed about a full schedule of task\൳ to do when they make a list that helps them to prioritize what has to get done.
- Recognizing depression
-
Tobacco and smoking
- How young people start smoking
- How to discourage tobacco use
- As an influential adult in an adolescent’s life, you can make a difference in how smoking is perceived by youth. Here are som\ ideas for discouraging tobacco use:
- By encouraging young people to take the lead with these activities, you are reinforcing healthy behaviors.
Table of Contents
- Module 2: Healthy - Skill Building Journal
- Module Checklist
- 2.1 Introduction
- Table of Contents
- Take a Closer Look
- Self-Reflection
- Pre-Training Assessment
- Learning Activity A
- Learning Activity B
- Learning Activity C
- Summarizing Your Progress
- Answer Sheet: Take a Closer Look
- Answer Sheet: Learning Activity A
- Answer Sheet: Learning Activity B
- Answer Sheet: Learning Activity C