Save the Children Romania is implementing the "Connected with my teenager" project that helps parents better understand the challenges of adolescence and support their children in adopting healthy and responsible behaviours.
Under this project, parents have access to validated information about the emotional and sexual health of adolescents and the early identification of risk behaviours. At the same time, they can develop the necessary skills to address, in an open and balanced way, sensitive topics such as relationships, mental health, alcohol, tobacco or drug use, gambling, accessing medical services and exposure to harmful online content, according to a Save the Children Romania press statement released on Wednesday.
The organisation says that over 80% of Romanian teenagers have consumed alcohol at least once, and half of them aged between 15 and 16 have consumed alcohol in the last month.
Regarding behaviours with addictive potential, 14% of children say they have participated in gambling for money, almost 40% have friends involved in such activities, and 1 in 10 lives in a family environment in which there is already addiction.
The exposure to substance use of Romanian adolescents is also significant: 3 in 10 children know people who use drugs, with the share increasing to 4 in 0 among adolescents. In addition, drinking behaviours become more common with age - among children over 14, 27% consumed alcohol, 19% smoked, 11% used heated tobacco, and 16% vaped in the last week.
In addition to these risks, adolescents in Romania also face significant vulnerabilities in the field of reproductive health. 31% of 15-year-old boys in Romania said they had already had sexual relations, with Romania reporting one of the highest proportions among the countries analysed.
In Romania, about 10% of births annually come from adolescent mothers, but in almost all cases of underage mothers (97% of pregnant women and underage mothers who participated in the Save the Children research), pregnancy during the minority period was not planned.
At the level of the European Union, about half (45%) of births to mothers under the age of 15 were registered in Romania; 32% of underage mothers mentioned that their own mothers were under 18 at the time of their first birth.
"Despite the existence of the discipline 'Health Education' in the national offer since 2004, its implementation remains limited, and recent legislative changes restrict children's access to essential information, especially in vulnerable communities. In the absence of official and accessible sources of information, children and adolescents end up getting information from informal, often incomplete or erroneous sources. Given the circumstances, the role of parents becomes essential. Increasing the level of information and supporting them in the development of communication and guidance skills for adolescents can significantly contribute to preventing risk behaviours and supporting healthy development," according to Gabriela Alexandrescu, executive chair of Save the Children Romania.
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