Avoiding risky behaviors is especially important during adolescence, a time during which people generally take more un-calculated risks. Substance use, risky sexual behaviors and delinquency are the most common manifestations of risky behavior. Research shows that peers can increase risk-taking during adolescence, while parents can serve as a protective factor against risk-taking, particularly substance use.

Research shows that young people benefit physically and mentally from healthy relationships with family, peers, and adult mentors other than parents.

Although attending to mental health might seem outside the scope of a whole body education, the mind is, after all, inseparable from the body. And the state of one’s mental health has a profound impact on one’s physical health.

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”

Physical health and maintenance includes hygiene, nutrition, physical activity, regular check-ups, and sleep. Parents can exert major influence over their children’s health maintenance, even into adolescence.

Hygiene is the most basic forms of physical cleanliness, including good hand-washing habits.