As your child grows into the tween years, social challenges around fashion, skin care, sport and all aspects of peer pressure are a normal part of growing up. They are called the tween years because they exhibit teenager qualities of independence, demand choice and have learnt that saying no is in their power after all. All these things are a surprise for parents as they wonder where there child has suddenly gone.

The teenage years are a wonderful gift for parents if you have an open mind. The teenage years call upon us as parents to be strong and still in the storm of independence that happens around us.

I personally believe that the tween years are the practice years for what is to come in teenage years so start reading and talking with other parents about parenting strategies during this time.

Until the tween years, you may have found it easy to manage a healthy lifestyle for your family. As the demand for fashion and skincare and junk food grows from your tween in your family, this is your chance to continue to educate children to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you have challenges maintaining a natural lifestyle with them, there are still small ways that you as the parent can contribute to their health.

Organic skin care and organic food are still purchases in your budget control. The new challenges may include organic skin care for acne. There is media pressure to purchase mainstream brands to control acne but home experiments with food and skincare can often show your teenager how they can control acne with their diet and organic skincare routine.

I highly recommend the book The Healthy Skin Diet for Tweens and Teens. It’s a great family resource. As a parents, I recommend you read this book to re-educate yourself about an alkaline diet and the effects this has on our skin. As well as loving your own skin improvements, this helps to educate our teenagers about organic food and organic skin care. They can see the direct benefits of an alkaline diet. They can also see the direct outcomes of a junk food binge. Skin good. Skin bad. You do not need to give advice on diet and organic skincare, just provide it and say nothing, your teenager will figure this out for themselves.

Adolescence is a time for teenagers to choose which family values they will keep for themselves. Imposing values never works on teenagers so it's up to you as a parent to keep providing good food and care (without mentioning it!) and teenagers will work out their own health concerns from experience.

If your tween or teen asked you for skin care products, purchase them a special organic skin care product that will only be for them, not the little kids in the family. This will help them feel special and different which is important. We have chosen Peachface as an ideal brand for tween and teens. The boys like it as much as the girls. The Peachface in my dreams night clay is a good acne skin treatment for example.

Tween girls will push the boundaries on face care and make up, get in first and purchase them good organic skin care. If you are quick off the mark, their friends will ask for Peachface, not a chemical commercial brand and in this way, you have inadvertently influenced the peer group.

Talk to other parents as well about what they do and make agreements about the use of make up and skincare. It's up to parents to work together on these issues. Health and kids will always be a parent's concern. It never stops as our parents tell us. You can keep your tween and Teenager healthy.

Organic Food is one of the best ways to help with Teenage behaviour. The teenage years are a time of huge growth so the right vitamins and minerals are vital for healthy growth.

I can always see the direct effect on my teenager's sleep patterns and skin depending on what he eats. I can usually keep a balanced, harmonious home by ensuring only good food is in the house, healthy yummy snacks are around for them to eat and provide good balanced alkaline meals. When I do this, their concentration and emotions are more balanced. I cannot control what they eat out of the house but I can control what they eat in it. This is our role as parents of tweens and teenagers.

Keep the staple of good food, good home, good skincare and the rest will unfold. Good luck, they are wonderful years to enjoy.
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