Unhealthy Habits Of Teens
- By Sam George
- Published 05/28/2008
Sam George
Sam George is the Executive Director of PARIVAR International - a non-profit initiative to address the needs of youth and families of Asian Indian origin in North America and to the Asian Indian community worldwide. Parivar means family in many Indian languages. Sam George also serves as one of the founding directors of Urban India Ministries
www.UrbanIndia.org Sam George and his wife, Mary have spoken at premarital and family events in many countries. They are parents of two boys and make their home in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Sam is the author of the book “Understanding the Coconut Generation: Ministry to the Americanized Asian Indians." Check out this website www.CoconutGeneration.com Coconut (brown on the outside, white on the inside) is a metaphor for the Americanized Asian Indians. Sam George can be reached at sam@coconutgeneration.com
Guess, what are some of underlying causes of unhealthy habits of teens… TV in their bedrooms! A new study published recently by the University of Minnesota School Public Health found that teenagers who have a television in their bedroom are more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles: from poor eating habits, to bad grades, to less time spent with the family. See a report in Science Daily.
We all know having television in kids bedrooms increases media consumption. Kids are more likley to watch shows in the privacy of their rooms what they would not watch in the living room with rest of the family. It also increases sedantry lifestyle, leading to obesity and other health hazards. What they watch also shape their behaviors and character. They become early adopters of fashion, music, food and other cultural products as a result. They consume what is trendy, not necessarily what is healthy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents remove television sets from their children’s bedrooms. Inspite of such warning the study found two-thirds of teens having television in their bedrooms. Another increasing trend is having laptop with wireless connections of their own. Often parents get such advanced technology to aid their school work, but inceasingly being used for anything but school work.
Dangerous trend indeed that has repercussion on youth ministry. Watch out youthworkers!