Teenagers have this delightful tendency to favour the indoors -- you know, that whole sleeping all day, emerging only to talk on the phone, text friends or read celebrity gossip. Oh wait, that kind of sounds like my life. Ah, the life of a freelancer.

Anyway, teenage girls have a very good reason to venture outdoors on a regular basis because a new study shows that a lack of vitamin D (provided by the sun's rays) can stunt an adolescent girl's growth and -- worse yet, if you ask them -- cause weight gain. You can get vitamin D in supplement form, but why bother when you can get the same results from a few minutes of outdoor time every day.

That doesn't mean that you're off the hook if you're well past puberty. A lack of vitamin D in adults is even more serious, potentially leading to osteoporosis, cancer and other deadly diseases.

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Confronting your pre-teens and teens about sex is a subject many parents tend to shy away from. Something that every kid will face -- from multiple individuals -- is the subject of sex. Why not have a heart-to-heart talk about it before then and get the information transfer completed? There's no reason not to do this.

So, let this be a New Year's reminder: time to sit your 12 year-old (or close to that age) on the couch and talk it out. Of course it's awkward -- but it's also required (my two cents). If there are personal reasons you don't want to open up about with a sex talk, remember: those can be put aside for the knowledge you're transferring to your child, step-child or even foster child.

These tips are some suggestions from various experts. How many of you recognize number two?

• Tip No. 1: Start young and go slow -- inform early, but don't pour out too much detail
• Tip No. 2: Never use pet names for body parts -- jettison the "woo woo," "wee wee" and other cutesy or non-descriptive names
• Tip No. 3: View current events as an opportunity -- as in, when the media brings the question of teenage pregnancy up (as in what happens daily from my perspective)
• Tip No. 4: Don't use yourself as the example - -this goes without saying
• Tip No. 5: Talk about the different types of sex -- yes, talk about more than plain intercourse
• Tip No. 6: Don't leave anything out -- including the touchy subjects of masturbation and sexual fantasy

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As Jonathon noted today, It's an odd combination -- nutritious food and porn -- that are causing some kids to physically mature faster. Those two items are being blamed for making Chinese children physiologically grow up before their time, according to a new report form doctors in that country.

The doctors claim that kids are reaching puberty are far earlier ages than in the past, with the rate of early-onset puberty having doubled in the last decade alone. How is it that nutritious food is causing unnatural sexual-related aging? This sounds fishy to me. You?

In the province of Guangzhou's, rich diets (like soups, seafood and animal innards) are being cited as the cause along with easily-accessible supplements like deer antler and ginseng extracts. It's not Western junk foods causing physical maturity, but healthy foods. Hmm.

Another cause was cited, and it was incorrect sex education. Access to too much porn will accelerate the curiosity of kids, which somehow adds to the early development of secondary sexual characteristics (though it was not stated how). That may be well and true, but I'm still confused on how eating healthy effects sexual maturity.

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According to doctors, the number of children experiencing an early onset to puberty has doubled over the last 10 years. A recent survey of Chinese children found that, in fact, the average age children began puberty had dropped to 11 -- down from 13 just a decade earlier. Some boys are starting to see secondary sexual characteristics as young as 9 1/2, with girls developing even younger -- sometimes at only 8-years-old.

So what's causing the trend?

Some blame the diet of Guangzhou, the Chinese province where the study was conducted, as it's full of proteins and essential elements that can accelerate growth -- while others think the cause is Western fast food. Still others point to improper sex education -- noting that today's kids have access to more pornographic material, which makes them sexually precocious.

While I can understand how diet would have an effect on growth, it seems these doctors are suggesting that viewing sexually explicit material also encourages the biological process of puberty -- which seems hard to believe.

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Child obesity is a huge problem, so if your kids want to start tagging along with you to the gym, you should let them -- it's a great way to build healthy habits at an influential age. But here's the thing -- Kids won't be able to build strong muscles until puberty hits, so the emphasis should be on their form. They can improve muscle tone but they won't be able to bulk up -- and trying to can put them at a risk for injury.

With the help of a personal trainer, youngsters can use light weights to improve their posture and muscle tone, and it's a good introduction to a life of healthy habits. But check with your gym first -- some have age minimums.

Do you work out with your kids?

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