High Risk Behavior
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Do you have a novelty seeking, high risk teen? Then it's important for you to encourage safe ways for your teen to test her limits.

Is your teen an adventure seeker? High risk teens are those who push the limits in everything they do. As great as it is that they'll never back off from a new experience, there is a down side to this temperament. Novelty seeking teens can get involved in unhealthy behaviors such as drug or sexual experimentation explains Dr. Marshall Korenblum, psychiatrist in chief at the Hincks Dellcrest Center. He says that the novelty seeking or high risk teen is "the kid who gets bored, needs to have a lot of action, a lot of movement, a lot of quick changes."

Dr. Korenblum adds that the novelty seeking, high risk teen needs and benefits from activities like rock climbing, biking and team sports. "They get out of it healthy stimulation, perhaps better co-ordination of their bodies and they're learning, even in sports where there's a lot of action, how to delay gratification. There are penalties in sports, so there are consequences for your actions. They're learning how to get along with others in society. What it's preventing is hopefully the unhealthy outlets for those kind of behaviors which is risky drug taking or sexual behaviors."

High risk adventure sports like mountain biking, rock climbing and kayaking answer the need to push the limits, while providing a sense of accomplishment and independence. Still they have inherent risks, and therefore it's imperative that any teen embarking on a high risk adventure be well trained by a qualified instructor.

Bruce Hogya, with Wilderness First Aid says parents are wise "to sign their teen up for an instructional course before cutting him loose rock climbing or white water rafting. Definitely getting good solid instruction by a reputable instructor that's qualified to do the activity and who teaches courses for teens and not just adults (is a must)."

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