The Importance of Teaching Our Teens to Advocate for Their Physical and Mental Health

Yesterday I sat in the doctor’s office with my three teenagers. It was time for their yearly checkups, which I always schedule back to back because it’s so much easier.

As we checked in, they were given forms to fill out with simple questions about how much exercise and screen time they get, and fruits and vegetables they eat. While they did pretty well, they kept looking to me for answer they already knew, and it made me realize it was time to give them a little push about advocating for the...