Why Your Kids Need Health Education

• Important Stats and Facts about Your Children's Health
• Helpful Websites

As a parent, you want your children to grow up healthy and safe. You try to help them eat right and exercise. You do your very best to pass on your family values relating to drugs and alcohol, sexual activity and violence. But sometimes, you wish both you and your children had more facts. You also know that the more kids hear about how to stay healthy, the more likely it is that the message will sink in.

It's hard to think about the risks that your kids face, but it's a reality. According to the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 51% of high school students have smoked cigarettes, 76% have used alcohol, 45% have had sexual intercourse and 24% had been bullied in the previous year. 1

Teachers can be important partners in helping your children to lead safe and healthy lives, both now and into adulthood. In Massachusetts, schools aren't required to teach comprehensive health education. This means that not all kids get the same information about nutrition, physical activity, mental health, safety and injury prevention, reproduction and sexuality, substance abuse and violence prevention. Research shows that medically accurate, age-appropriate health education is essential for prevention of the health problems affecting today's youth.

CARE for Youth is working hard to make comprehensive health education a requirement in all Massachusetts public schools. We're working with parents and teachers across the state to make sure that schools give kids the information they need to make smart decisions and to stay healthy. Our children's futures depend on it.