Do you struggle to connect with your teen?
While your child may have been more open and dependent on you when they were younger, as a teen they are likely trying to establish some independence, and figure out who they are for themselves. Those are great things! But it can cause issues for your feelings of connection and your ability to communicate with them effectively.
And, since they’re still learning the foundational skills for healthy relationships, teens often don’t know how to let you know they need help or are struggling. To help, we’ve put together 4 blogs on what your teen wishes you knew, but doesn’t know how to tell you.
6 Ways School Is Stressing Out Your Teen
One thing that many teens have in common is that school is the biggest source of their stress. According to Psycom, 83% of teens report that school is one of their common sources of stress. While there is no doubt that school is important, it’s also important to recognize the ill effects of prolonged stress both physically and mentally. While there’s no guaranteed source of stress for teenagers in school, the following list contains some of the most common sources of school stress. If you notice your teen going through one or more of these at the same time, make sure to check in with them to see how you can best support them. If you know what to look for, it will be easier to spot sources of school stress and then act when your teen needs assistance.
Teen Stress: Where Does it Come From & How to Manage It
Did you know that 45% of teens say that they’re stressed all the time? In fact teen stress has climbed so high that it now rivals the stress adults (with full time jobs, people to care for, and bills to pay) feel in their day to day lives.
On a 10-point scale (one being not stressed at all, 10 being extremely stressed), teens report feeling an average of 5.8 during the school year, which is higher than the 5.1 most adults report.
Navigating School Refusal
Teens resist school for many reasons beyond stubbornness or rebellious behavior, like anxiety. There could be many reasons that attending school causes anxiety in your teen. They might struggle with academic anxiety, feeling pressures to achieve for the sake of their future. They might struggle with social anxiety, so time outside of structured class time, or the thought of a teacher calling on them might cause extreme distress.
3 Ways to Show Your Teen You're Someone Safe to Turn To
Do you know how your teen’s mental health is actually doing? According to this NAMI survey on teen mental health, while 64% of teens feel the world is more stressful now than when their parents were alive, and 65% say they feel comfortable talking about their mental health with the people they’re close to, the numbers of those who do actually seek support from those around them are much lower.
When it comes to talking to their parents about their mental health, that number drops to 48% and then down further to 34% when asked if they seek mental health information from their parents (rather than just confide their own feelings).