Healthy Teens Website Launched

Staying safe online, consent, and healthy eating are just some of the topics covered in a newly launched website specifically for teenagers in Lincolnshire.

The Lincolnshire Healthy Teens website has been launched by Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and aims to provide teenagers with advice on topics such as drugs, alcohol and smoking, healthy relationships and rights for young carers.

The website has been developed over an eight month period by Kelly Waldie, Social Marketing Project Officer, Dianne Dietzel, School Nurse and Operational Lead and a project group of school nurses at LCHS.

Dianne Dietzel said: “We want the website to have lots of input from young people – it is for them. We’ve also included a blog section which will feature blogs written by health professionals and teenagers themselves.

“The blog will cover a different topic every month such as cyberbullying, sexting, self-harm and eating disorders. These topics can be tough for teens to talk about which is why we wanted this information and advice to be freely available for them to access and to hopefully kick-start the difficult conversation.”

To launch the website LCHS held a blog competition for teens aged 14 and above which budding writer Ella Holbrook from Holbeach won.

The 17-year-old’s winning entry is featured on the site; she has been welcomed to write further entries and also received a £50 Odeon cinema voucher as part of her prize.

She said: “I don’t feel there is enough information out there for teens with mental health concerns and lots of people don’t take these issues seriously, especially adults. This website will hopefully provide lots of useful and relevant information for teenagers across Lincolnshire.”

Kelly Waldie added: “We’re really proud of the site and we can’t wait to hear feedback from teens across the county. We will be making further developments and we’re already thinking of having a chat function with a health professional at a later date.”

The website is available to view on any computer or mobile device which has access to the internet, please visit: www.lincolnshirehealthyteens.nhs.uk

Tips on how to stay safe on social media

• When choosing a profile picture for any social networking website avoid photos that could give strangers clues about where you live
• Check your privacy settings regularly
• Think about what you should and shouldn’t share
• Don’t upload or share anything you wouldn’t want your parents, teachers or friends seeing
• Use strong passwords, those that have a mixture of letters and numbers and always keep passwords to yourself and change them regularly
• If somebody you don’t know adds you as a friend, ignore them and delete their request
• Don’t share personal information such as your address or phone number with anyone you don’t know
• Always cover or unplug your webcam when not in use
• Don’t arrange to meet up with people you’ve met online
• If you read anything online that worries you, tell someone about it