Parents of Teenagers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, being a teenager may not be as risky as it used to be. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, that the CDC conducts every two years, shows very encouraging progress: Fewer teens are sexually active, nearly all wear seat belts, drinking and drug use are down, 80 percent of kids don't smoke and there are fewer suicide attempts, reports cbsnews.com.

The new numbers are still startling:

7% of teens say they've attempted suicide (down from nearly 9% in 2001).
35% of teens say they're sexually active (down from 37.5% in 2001).
20% of teens say they smoke cigarettes (down from 36.4% in 1997).
Nearly 45 % of teens say they use alcohol (down from nearly 50% in 1999).
About 20 % of teens say they use marijuana (down from nearly 27% in 1999).

Parents need to be involved in their teenagers' lives, according to Nancy Cahir, Ph.D., a child/adolescent/adult psychologist in private practice in Atlanta. "What I have seen in my practice is even parents who think it couldn't happen to their child — well, it can," Cahir tells WebMD. "Even with the 'perfect child,' there may be hidden issues; even in good families, bad things can happen. There is no discrimination when it comes to high-risk behavior for teens."