Parent Letters - English

Chapter 1: Understanding Your Health

Parent Letter and Activities
For use with Chapter 1

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We are now studying the topic of understanding health and wellness. We will discuss the changes that occur during the teen years as well as how to live healthfully. Living healthfully includes much more than simply staying physically fit. Being healthy also means feeling good about oneself and getting along with other people. It involves physical, mental/emotional, and social well-being — the three sides of the health triangle. Students will be learning how to balance their health triangle in order to achieve wellness. We shall explore ways in which students can take responsibility for their own health by making healthy choices.

Some questions your child will answer as we begin this course are: How can I keep my physical, mental/emotional, and social health in balance? How do my daily decisions contribute to wellness? What physical, mental/emotional, and social changes occur during adolescence? How can I develop positive health habits? How can I recognize and avoid risk behaviors?

Your involvement and participation in your child’s health education is important. By showing them good, positive health habits, you reinforce what they learn in their health class. To help you do this, I will send you this type of letter for every major topic that we study. In the letter, activities that you and your child can do together will be suggested. To begin this process, please try to complete one or more of the following activities with your teen:

Engage in a healthful activity with your child, such as playing an outdoor game or taking a walk together. Point out how this contributes to mental/emotional and social health as well as to physical health.

Visit a park or shopping mall together and do some “people watching.” Encourage your child to observe and comment on people who show healthy characteristics, such as a happy smile, good posture, and so on. Help your teen see that wellness means more than fitness.

Of course, feel free to engage in other activities you think will help your teen develop and maintain healthful habits. Thank you for supporting our classroom work. Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss your child’s health education.

Sincerely,

Health Teacher