Most parents feel like adolescence is the most difficult to stage to navigate, though a handful of parents actually prefer this stage above all others. The mind of a teenager is certainly a mysterious place, and their behavior often sends the parents running for the hills – or indulging in a very infrequent homicidal fantasy. Parents of all demographics who felt anxious and frustrated during their kids’…
Should Parents Really Trust Teenage Children?
Exercise Does a Body – and a Mind – Good for Adolescence
Exercise is not just good for physical health. Daily physical activity can also boost our mental health. 1. Self-image Physical activity has positive effects on body weight and body structure, leading to positive feedback from peers and improved self-image, and ultimately improving mental health. Adolescents who were physically inactive or who perceived their bodies as either “too fat” or “too thin” were at greater risk…
Why Are So Many Teen Girls Depressed
According to new data recently released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, teenage girls suffer from depression at a rate that is nearly three times that of boys their age. As if that weren’t bad enough- between the ages of 12 and 15 the percentage of girls struggling with depression triples. 1. Experience the onset of their periods First, many girls have by the…
Back to School – Transition To Secondary School
At this time of year, some children will be starting school for the very first time, others will be starting their first year of high school. What is transitioning? For children and young people some key transitions are around school and work, as they mark milestones in young lives. Starting at a new school is a normal part of life for young people. However, it…
Why A Teen Who Talks Back May Have A Bright Future
Psychologist Joseph P. Allen says almost all parents and teenagers argue. But it’s the quality of the arguments that makes all the difference. “We tell parents to think of those arguments not as nuisance but as a critical training ground,” he says. Such arguments, he says, are actually mini life lessons in how to disagree — a necessary skill later on in life with partners,…
When Parents Disagree About Their Adolescent
The problem of parental disagreement starts from the child’s birth when diverging ideas about child rearing unexpectedly arise. As father, one parent will be influenced by his own male training growing up and this may bias his perception and approach to a son and daughter. So maybe he believes competing hard and performing well is what matters most. As mother, the other parent will be…
Ten Practices of Effective Discipline with Your Adolescent
The ultimate goal of parental discipline is to help adolescents develop sufficient self-discipline to manage themselves and their lives independently and well. 1. Clear rules are consistently supported. The teenager knows where parents stand because they keep standing in the same place. 2. Patient insistence is relentlessly applied. The teenager knows that if it’s important enough for parents to ask for, it’s important enough to…