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By DIANE HART Special to the Beaver Selfâ€"esteem top health issue among teens "I know a lot of people who are conâ€" stantly feeling under pressure about getâ€" ting the best grades to go into the best universities. And then you turn on the television and it‘s all there â€" the jobless rate, the unemployment rate, the whole thing. It‘s all negative, negative, negaâ€" tive. And there is always pressure," said Joseph, a Grade 10 student at Oakville‘s St. Ignatius of Loyola High School. The school, in conjunction with the Halton Regional Health Department, sponsored an evening devoted to lookâ€" ing at what has been identified as a key health issue for teenage kids... selfâ€" esteem. Guest speaker, Dianne Banks, a parâ€" ent support worker at the Oakville Parentâ€"Child Centre, said these feelings of pressure can often result in the teenager feeling they have not met the expectations of their parents. ixteenâ€"yearâ€"old Bliss Joseph can sum up the life of some of her classmates in one word: Help your child feel like a somebody Department and school representatives, including students from Loyola‘s Wellness Interest Network (WIN) and those from St. John‘s Health and Wellness Club (HAWK). Both clubs were established as part of the health department initiative to identify health issues in schools. According to both Mary Peric and Suzanne Lenardon from the health department, selfâ€"esteem was listed as the top health issue in recent surveys. About 21 Halton high schools and 42 elemenâ€" tary schools have similar clubs. "Selfâ€"esteem is absolutely critical," said Peric. "Teens need to feel good about themselves before they can deal with the other issues." According to Banks, parents with the best of intentions can often place unwitâ€" ting pressure on teenagers. ‘"In our zeal, our concern for their welfare and our own knowledge about the importance of making positive choices, we can get upset and kids get a different message. Sometimes the message sent is not the one that‘s been caught." She continued, "It‘s important that kids are told they are pretty darn wonâ€" derful." Often parents of teens think their children are getting "out of control", said Banks. At this vulnerable time, it is important to keep the lines of communiâ€" cation open and try not to overâ€"react or be overly critical. She urged parents to "lighten up" and reflect on whether the incident incitâ€" ing the anger will matter in six months down the road. "Sometimes, you have to let things slide by. You‘re going to have heated discussions, that‘s only healthy in any family. But pick your fights." She said later, it was important that parents even of small children realize the importance of letting kids "be." All too often, said Banks, parents have their children in so many strucâ€" tured lessons or programs that there is little time to just ‘"be."