The most important thing you can do as you raise your introverted teen is to accept them as they are. Don't try to make them become extroverts or get them to be more outgoing. Accept their personality for what it is. This will help them develop a better sense of self. It is also important to validate your teen, so make sure that you tell your teen that it is normal to be introverted. For example, you might say something like, "Being an introvert is totally normal. There is nothing wrong with being an introvert." According to scientific studies, extroverts and introverts have different brain chemistries, which means their brains are hardwired differently. This means they are naturally and biologically made to be an introvert. People may use negative or unflattering words to describe your child. You can rephrase these descriptions into something positive. This helps your child refrain from adopting negative labels and descriptions for themselves and instead create a healthy, positive image. You should also use positive words in your own mind when thinking about your child. For example, if someone says your child is "standoffish," you can say "reserved" or "careful." If someone calls your child "timid," you may say "quiet" or "contemplating." Many times, introverted teens don't feel like they have a voice or the ability to speak up. This means they may let people bully them or run over them. They also may not speak their mind when they do have an opinion. Teach your teen that their voice is important. If your teen is being bullied, help them learn how to speak to a trusted adult or to address the issue. You and your child may be able to come up with a phrase that can work, like, "Stop treating me this way" or "Do not speak to me like that." When your child speaks, listen to them. Ask questions and encourage them to talk to you. Make sure they know that you value their opinions and ideas. Teaching your child to be more assertive may also help. Introverted teens may have trouble expressing their feelings or talking about what they are thinking. Because they focus on their inner self and keep things internalized, they may have trouble figuring out how to communicate their feelings. Help your child learn how to express their feelings. Create an environment where they feel comfortable sharing their feelings. Don't make them feel embarrassed or wrong for their feelings. If your teen doesn't want to share feelings or ideas verbally with you, try getting them to express themselves in other ways. Get them to write in a journal, create art, or play music to express their feelings. You may also encourage individual sports, like boxing or martial arts, to help them release frustration.

Summary: Accept your child for who they are. Describe your child using positive words. Teach your teen their voice matters. Help your teen express feelings.

Having diabetes can do a lot of damage to your kidneys; high levels of blood sugar can make the kidneys overwork and filter too much blood. Overtime, overworked kidneys can lose their ability to function properly, resulting in kidney failure. To check your daily blood glucose, you can use a glucose monitor that you can purchase at your local pharmacy. Record each day's reading. A normal fasting glucose level is generally less than 110 mg/dl. 'Fasting glucose' means that the recording is taken before you eat breakfast so your stomach is empty. If you have diabetes, your doctor will have prescribed you with a medication that you can take daily. The medication will either be taken orally or is a shot of insulin. Regardless of the type of medication, make sure that you follow your doctor's prescription. When you have diabetes, you should try to control any spurts of blood sugar levels. This is because these spurts can damage your kidneys, since your body's insulin is not able to control sudden spurts of blood sugar level. This means trying to avoid very sugary foods as much as possible. You should avoid: Granulated sugars and other sweeteners. Soft drinks (sodas) and candy. Dried fruits. Cookies, cakes, and other baked goods.

Summary: Understand how diabetes affects kidney function. Measure your blood glucose daily. Take the medicine your doctor has prescribed. Avoid foods that are rich in sugar.

After you finish a draft, read it with a pencil in your hand, or your finger on the delete button. If you see something that repeats a point you've already made, or wastes the reader's time, delete it. Anything that isn't working to prove the main idea is ineffective wasted space. It's sometimes necessary to eliminate unnecessary sentences, ideas, points, sections, or even paragraphs to make a piece more effective. Make sure your subjects and verbs agree, and replace weak verbs to avoid passive voice. Weak verbs include "is" "was" "be" and "have." Learn to replace weak verbs with more active verbs to make your writing more vigorous. Instead of writing "A big crowd has been lured downtown," use a stronger verb than "has been." Try, "The festival lured a big crowd downtown," replacing the verb with the stronger "lured." Look for sentences that start with the word "there" for a quick tip to weak verbs. Bad writing is wordy and wastes the reader's time. Good writing is concise, cutting straight to the point. Don't use two words when a single more accurate word is sufficient. Instead of writing "The party was super fun and exciting," write, "The party was thrilling." Any sentence that involves multiple "ands" or semi-colons needs to be cut into more than one sentence. In general, avoid semi-colons and sentences with more than one clause. Does your writing accomplish what you wanted it to accomplish? Does it explain the main idea fully and clearly? If so, you're ready to move on to late concerns. Read over the improved draft and look for misspellings, typos, and punctuation errors. This should be one of the last things you do with a draft before it is finished. Ask a friend or family member to read your writing and ask them for specific feedback by having them tell you what they thought the main idea was, or having them write it at the end of the piece. Did they get it right? If not, keep working to make it more effective.
Summary: Cut everything that doesn't move your ideas forward. Replace weak verbs with strong verbs. Eliminate unnecessary words. Look for run-on sentences. Look back at your original purpose and make sure it matches. Proofread last. Get feedback, if possible.