According to the U.S. Surgeon General, almost 70% of girls have tried to lose weight or go on a diet prior to their eighteenth birthday. This means kids are making the effort to drop the pounds – but do they really need it, and are they doing so in a way that's truly helpful?

Instead of simply encouraging your teenage daughter to eat healthy meals, it's also important to instruct her on healthy weight management habits that she can use for the rest of her life.

To learn how you can teach your child healthy weight management and weight loss habits, keep reading.

Encourage Gradual Weight Loss

If your child does actually need to shed some weight, a responsible parent should always encourage slow and gradual weight loss. The ideal rate for weight loss is 1-to-2 pounds per week. Anything more is often an indication of poor nutrition.

Additionally, rapid weight loss is often only temporary with the surprising likelihood of not only regaining all that was dropped but also continuing to gain beyond the original weight. Such a see-saw pattern is not only discouraging, but it unhealthy for the heart.

In contrast, weight loss that's gradual is more likely to be sustained in the long term.

Cut Out Fizzy Drinks

Among the greatest weight gain culprits for teens is high-sugar beverages like soda, energy drinks and sugary juices. Instead of routinely serving or providing these, encourage your teen to drink water as a replacement for the other calorie-laden liquids.

Make It a Family Affair

The best approach to teaching your teenager healthy eating patterns is to practice at home. If you don't already do so, stock your kitchen with healthy foods, prepare well-rounded meals, and provide snacks that are nutritious, filling, and tasty. When it comes to needed weight loss, teens who have the support of their families are often much more successful at weight loss and maintenance than those who do not. In addition, children who grow up trained in healthy habits at home tend to embrace them for the rest of their lives.

Make Breakfast a Priority

Teenage girls frequently skip breakfast - whether because they don't feel hungry, are running late, or think doing so will help them lose weight. The truth is, taking a few extra minutes for your daughter to eat a nutritious breakfast will not only fuel the body and brain, but will also kick-start her metabolism, meaning she'll burn more calories throughout the day.

Discuss Body Issues

If you suspect your teen is wrestling with her weight or has body image issues, it's critical to discuss these concerns with her openly. You should resist the temptation to chastise or blame her for extra weight or poor dietary habits.

Rather, encourage your daughter to open up about eating patterns, whether her goal is truly a diet, why dieting has become such a priority (if indeed it has), and her own body image concerns. Weight loss for teenage girls is a touchy subject, but parents should not consequently allow the discussion to go ignored. Her lifetime health is at stake.

* For weight loss, drink two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water before each meal. This is not a quick fix, but it has been said to cause gradual weight loss with no major changes in diet. Coupled with a sensible diet and exercise routine, however, it could cause somewhat quicker weight loss and help you keep the weight off.

* For a cold or the flu, take a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water several times a day. This will help balance the body's pH, making it a less favorable environment for the germs.

* Apple cider vinegar is great for getting rid of dandruff. Applying it to the scalp and letting it stand for 30 minutes to an hour before washing will kill the fungus that causes dandruff. It also helps soothe an itchy scalp.

* Diabetics can benefit from taking apple cider vinegar in water once a day. This has been proven to help lower blood sugar.

* Apple cider vinegar is often used to relieve sinus problems and ear infections. Depending on your symptoms, you can drink it, add it to a vaporizer, inhale it, or squirt it in your ear with a syringe and let it drain back out.

* Digestive problems and diarrhea can be relieved with an apple cider vinegar tonic. The vinegar soaks up liquid and forms a protective coating in the intestines, and it activates stomach acid and enzymes. It may also relieve the symptoms of acid reflux.

* Apple cider vinegar can soothe a sunburn. You can soak a towel in it at full strength and place it directly on the burn, or you can take a bath in water with one cup of the vinegar added.

* Painful and unsightly varicose veins can benefit from treatment with apple cider vinegar. Apply it full strength twice a day, and drink two teaspoons in water twice a day. It may take a month to see results.

* Apple cider vinegar is good for a sore throat. Gargling with a vinegar and water mixture every hour can help you feel better faster. But it is important to remember not to swallow the mixture once you've gargled with it, because it draws out germs.

* Muscle soreness can be treated with apple cider vinegar. It can be applied full strength with a small amount of cayenne pepper added, or you can soak in a bath with a few cups of vinegar added.

These are just a few of the myriad ways that we can use apple cider vinegar for health. Drinking a vinegar tonic each day can improve our health in a number of ways. We can also apply it topically to rid ourselves of many more aliments. Stocking up on apple cider vinegar will put the remedy for a variety of problems right at your fingertips.