Please enjoy the following guest post about raising healthy teenagers.
Sophie Letts created Meditation Help to help others get started with meditation, dispel meditation myths, and provide the resources others need to connect with their bodies, calm their minds, and embrace their true selves. She has been practicing meditation for five years. Her practice has helped her in many ways, including improving her ability to focus and reducing feelings of anxiety.
Sophie Letts created Meditation Help to help others get started with meditation, dispel meditation myths, and provide the resources others need to connect with their bodies, calm their minds, and embrace their true selves. She has been practicing meditation for five years. Her practice has helped her in many ways, including improving her ability to focus and reducing feelings of anxiety.
Make no mistake about it: Raising teenagers is tough work. You want to set them on a healthy path of self-confidence and smart decision-making, knowing they soon will be out on their own without your guidance. Take advantage of the precious time you have with them to instill integrity and confidence.
Communicate
Teenagers are going to have opportunities to participate in potentially unhealthy or dangerous activities. Being open with your children about the possibility of people offering them drugs or alcohol before it happens gives them tools to address it positively when it does. Discuss the reasons drug and alcohol use in teens is dangerous and how it can negatively affect their lives.
Be clear about your expectations when it comes to alcohol and drug use without lecturing. Practice situations where someone offers your child drinks or drugs, brainstorming with your teen different ways they can say no that they are comfortable with.
These same principles apply to sexual activity, notes Verywell Family. Teaching them how to say no effectively and accept someone saying no respectfully are important skills for your teen’s life. Establish a protocol for contacting you if someone is making them uncomfortable or you need to pick them up. If they know they can always count on you for help, they will be less likely to get themselves in irrevocably dangerous situations.
Be clear about your expectations when it comes to alcohol and drug use without lecturing. Practice situations where someone offers your child drinks or drugs, brainstorming with your teen different ways they can say no that they are comfortable with.
These same principles apply to sexual activity, notes Verywell Family. Teaching them how to say no effectively and accept someone saying no respectfully are important skills for your teen’s life. Establish a protocol for contacting you if someone is making them uncomfortable or you need to pick them up. If they know they can always count on you for help, they will be less likely to get themselves in irrevocably dangerous situations.
Model healthy practices
Teens are more persistent when they see their parents achieve their own goals — which includes health practices. Help achieve this by modeling the kind of positive relationships with your body and mind that you want your child to enjoy. Performance Health suggests engaging physically with your children frequently, showing them that activity is a joyful and responsible practice that helps them lead fuller lives. With teenagers, it’s best to let their interests guide the way, so present them with options they'll like such as weightlifting or swimming.
Karate classes taught by experienced instructors are also an outstanding option for teens. Karate teaches them not only the movements of martial arts but also invaluable life skills such as stress management and self-discipline. Studies have shown martial arts increase confidence while sharpening focus. The physical benefits are significant, too, with karate increasing strength and improving balance and coordination.
Karate classes taught by experienced instructors are also an outstanding option for teens. Karate teaches them not only the movements of martial arts but also invaluable life skills such as stress management and self-discipline. Studies have shown martial arts increase confidence while sharpening focus. The physical benefits are significant, too, with karate increasing strength and improving balance and coordination.
Be goal-oriented
Introduce goal-setting as an important individual practice. Model this by setting your own goals and sharing them with your teen. If you’ve always meant to go back to school, now is the time. Let your child see you working steadily toward your master’s degree in education and your teacher certification. You can even complete it from home, with thousands of degree programs now available online.
Help your teens achieve their dreams by setting goals together. To start, come up with long-term goals with your teen that they would like to achieve. Maybe there is a degree they would like to pursue or a career path they want to follow. Break the achievement of that goal down into smaller actionable steps.
For instance, if they would like to become a pharmacist, they’ll need to follow a science and math track in high school. A small goal might be to sign up for an advanced chemistry class and get a good grade in it, which will take your teen achieving several micro-goals of getting good grades on tests and assignments.
Your teens can succeed with you on their side guiding the way. Communicate openly, model healthy practices, and lead them in goal-setting and achievement. The future you want for them is on the other side of these manageable steps.
Help your teens achieve their dreams by setting goals together. To start, come up with long-term goals with your teen that they would like to achieve. Maybe there is a degree they would like to pursue or a career path they want to follow. Break the achievement of that goal down into smaller actionable steps.
For instance, if they would like to become a pharmacist, they’ll need to follow a science and math track in high school. A small goal might be to sign up for an advanced chemistry class and get a good grade in it, which will take your teen achieving several micro-goals of getting good grades on tests and assignments.
Your teens can succeed with you on their side guiding the way. Communicate openly, model healthy practices, and lead them in goal-setting and achievement. The future you want for them is on the other side of these manageable steps.
If you haven’t already read the book, it’s a great place to start - Relationship Reboot: Break free from the bad habits in your relationship.
David B. Younger, Ph.D. is the creator of Love After Kids, for couples that have grown apart since having children. He is a clinical psychologist and couples therapist with a web-based private practice and lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, 17-year-old son, 8-year-old daughter and 9-year-old toy poodle.
David B. Younger, Ph.D. is the creator of Love After Kids, for couples that have grown apart since having children. He is a clinical psychologist and couples therapist with a web-based private practice and lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, 17-year-old son, 8-year-old daughter and 9-year-old toy poodle.
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