It’s not easy for parents to hear that their teenage daughter is on the way or their son got his girlfriend pregnant. It’s especially difficult when these parents have raised their kids to be God-fearing and morally upright. Sometimes, parents can fall into the self-righteousness trap and miss out on giving their kid the guidance that he or she needs a time like this. If you find yourself in this situation, remember these pointers:

Focus on her problem not on your disappointment. Most parents will reprimand their child because they’re hurt over what’s happened or they’re concerned about their image. But remember that is the time when she needs your love and support the most.

Acknowledge your hurt but don’t cause more pain. Discuss your pain with an adult and avoid releasing it on your daughter. Instead, assure her that there’s nothing she can do to make you and God stop loving her.

Celebrate the blessing of life, Help her understand that God has allowed life to emerge at this time. It’s a good time to bond with your daughter by walking her through what to expect in her pregnancy.

One of the most important and the most beautiful organ of our body, the eye is God’s gift to us. It is imperative that we take adequate care of it right throughout our lives. However, it is common to see teenagers not taking enough care of their eyes unless there is some noticeable abnormality.

Today more than ever, teenagers are always eager to try on new things. Even using contact lens in various colors as a fashion accessory has become quite common. Though using contact lens is not really a bad idea, teenagers should take care of various aspects of their lens and eye health, including cleaning and rinsing the lenses without fail and storing them in a proper place. This ensures the contact lenses and thus the eyes are protected from bacterial and other infections.

Children and teens are prone to ultra violet radiation that is caused due to exposure to the harmful rays of the sun. IN fact, glasses are even available with UV block or coating that may or may not offer complete protection. So it becomes all the more important for teens to pay attention towards eye care by using proper eyeglasses and other eye wear. Children often have larger pupils compared to their parents. Their eyes are therefore exposed to more light. Since they are outdoors most of the time their eyes are exposed to light much more than an average adult.

A recent survey states that 80% of our lifetime exposure to ultraviolet rays occurs by the age of 18 and the annual dose of teens and young children is three times that of adults. It is also observed that short term damage is very hard to be noticed but if they are left untreated may lead to irreversible long term eye damage. Children and teens require maximum eye protection. They can use the special UV blocking glasses when they go out in the sun as clinical studies show that these glasses minimize the risk of eye disorders.

Long term exposure to ultra violet radiation can increase the risk associated with cataracts and therefore must be consciously avoided. Direct exposure to sun light is however based on various environmental conditions like altitude and the geography of the region and also on personal factors like the extent and nature of outdoor activities. You can use sunglasses even while driving to minimize the risk of exposure further. Some teenagers use sunglasses in order to look fashionable, but these actually help in protecting their eyes from the bright sunlight and also from dust and environmental pollution. You can choose from a large variety of sunglasses in different designs, colors and sizes. Another aspect to be considered is the diet followed by teens. They need to have a proper diet comprising of vitamin, calcium and mineral supplements that provides them with the necessary nutrition required for healthy eyes. Follow these tips and you will have a pair of glowing and healthy eyes.

Regular eye check ups at least once in six months can be of great use. They can detect major defects at an early stage which might have not be visible otherwise.