Office of HIV/AIDS & Viral Hepatitis

Information for Kids

How can kids help prevent HIV/AIDS?

Kids are important people. They have ideas, opinions and drive to do the “right thing”. Kids learn about the “right things” by watching others, especially their parents. Be the kind of person your parents want you to be. Talk to your parents about your beliefs, ideas, opinions and goals. Talk about what you need from your parents. In school, you will learn about diseases including HIV and AIDS. Talk with your parents about what you learn in school. Issues about relationships, dating, and human sexuality are important to kids. Here are some tips that might help you understand relationships better:

• Remember that nobody's perfect. Everyone has good and bad days. Learn to cope in healthy ways. Playing sports, listening to music, talking with a helpful, trusting adult can help with dealing with stress. Kids who have a trusted adult to talk to are less likely to use drugs.
• Be active and eat a healthy diet. Be active and with overweight rates rising in children and teens, it is important to be active. Do fun activities that you enjoy (walking, biking, hiking, etc.) and eat meals together with your family as often as possible. Eat fruits and vegetables everyday, limit fast foods and fat (for example, fried foods) and sugar (for example, soda.) Kids who practice healthy behaviors are more likely to make the right decisions about relationships too.
• Do community service with your parents. This is a great way to learn new skills and responsibility. It also puts you in touch with other kids who care about people and want to be helpful. You can make a difference by helping other people, and it builds your self-confidence. There are community organizations that have volunteer programs and fund raisers that help people living with HIV and AIDS.
• Stay involved with your school. Education is important. Talk with your parents about going to college and about careers that might interest you. Join student activities like the newspaper, student government or yearbook and volunteer to help with a school event. Stay informed and do your next science project on HIV and AIDS.
• Know about your cultural identity and history. Talk to your parents about your country’s history . Does your family have ties to another country? Compare your culture to others. Talking about cultural differences with your parents. Notice how some families have expectations of kids that are different or the same in your family. Learn to understand and respect others. People who HIV & AIDS are just like everyone else. They have families, jobs and go to school.
• Talk about how you make decisions. Be honest. Let your parents know how you think and make decisions. You might find out that you have a lot of points of agreement. It’s important to know when you don’t agree too. Ask your parents about why they do and think certain things. This will help you understand their points of view. By doing this, you can learn more about why and how they make decisions and set ground rules for you. When parents set clear ground rules for kids they are less likely to get into trouble.
• Be caring, fair, truthful, and responsible. Be an example that your friends and younger brothers or sisters will follow. Tell the truth and ask for fairness in all your interactions with other kids. If you see that another child is being treated unfairly, speak up.

Show the world that kids are responsible, caring people with an important role in our community.

Adapted from The Rhode Island Parent Link Network Tip on Setting a Good Example.

Where can kids get more information and resources?

For more information, go to:

• Advocates for Youth
• Peer to Peer: Stop, Think, Be Safe