Main content

    Who Are "The SWEAT Kids?"

    If you want information on life as a teen or preteen, go to the source. Our Summer Wellness Education and Training for Teens (SWEAT) Institute (formerly SODAH) is staffed by youth aged 13 to 20 who bring expert advice on life as a teen or preteen to "We're Talking!" They have developed many stories, articles and other information for the teen and preteen web pages. The SWEAT kids write about the things they love and about such topics as:

    • Good sportsmanship
    • Divorce
    • Transitioning from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, and high school to college
    • Relationships
    • Siblings
    • Finding your ethnic and cultural identity
    The kids also contribute fun features, including recipes for do-it-yourself after-school snacks, poetry, graphics, movie reviews, words of the month, and book reviews. Parents review movies and books as well.

    "As adults, we have no way to fully understand their reality, because life was so different for us at that age. Their contributions make this site more relevant to our target audience," said the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Nancy Brown, Ph.D., who oversees the site.