title: Toward a new paradigm for youth development.
abstract: Although practitioners and researchers continue to shape the emerging field of youth development, we have still not found a clear and compelling way to talk about our work to family members, the public, and policymakers. The diet-and-exercise analogy presented here compares features essential for good health with comparable features affecting positive youth development. The effects of the inputs or nutrients of a healthy diet are magnified when the individual makes a commitment to exercise. Likewise, the impact of teaching and developmental supports is magnified when young people become actively engaged in their own learning and development.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Center for 4-H and Community Youth Development, USA.
authors.forename: Dale A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Blyth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011050:Policy Making; D016730:Program Development; D012931:Social Environment