Health secretary gives Tobago teens advice on puberty

Secretary of Health, Wellness and Social Protection Dr Faith BYisrael was a guest speaker at the recent seminar on puberty hosted by Youths Transcending Boundaries, at the Speyside Water Wheel.

BYisrael said the youths were very interactive during the discussions.

"It was actually pretty good," she said. "They were a little quiet at first, but after a little ice breakers and they realised it was a safe space to ask questions, they ended up doing a bit of talking closer to the end."

The public health expert added, "The original plan was to speak on puberty and what the body goes through during that time. We branched off a bit into some domestic violence issues, relationship issues, what are some of the issues they have talking with their parents and guardians, that sort of thing."

BYisrael said discussions such as these are important to promote teen health, which can be negatively affected by misinformation.

"Some of the questions were obviously burning questions like things like masturbation – how safe it was, how healthy it was. You can tell they finally had an opportunity to ask and get a real answer and not have to worry about repercussions about asking a question like that."

BYisrael said parents are often hesitant about engaging in teen health discussions because they may not have the answers to some of the questions being asked.

"I'm actually supposed to schedule a couple sessions with the parents. A session I had recently, there were a few parents and they were asking some more questions than the youngsters. So having a space where older people can have their questions answered is a good place to start, so that would allow them to be comfortable speaking to their children or charges."