How Parents Can Help Improve Their Teens Mental Health

According to experts, the pandemic affected teenagers’ development in various ways. In fact, some psychologists suggest that parents can help improve their teen’s mental health by adjusting their age by 2 years. This means that a 13-year-old today might be more developmentally aligned with an 11-year-old pre-pandemic.

While the pandemic and the state of the world today do affect teens, Parents play an essential role in supporting their teens to continue to develop positive mental health.

5 tips for parents to help their teens have positive mental health 

1. Validate your teen’s feelings: It is normal for teens to feel overwhelmed, and anxious during uncertain times. As a parent, it is essential to validate your teen’s feelings. Encourage open communication and listen to their concerns without judgment. Avoid dismissing their feelings or telling them to “just cheer up.” Learn how to practice active listening and really be there to just listen first. 
2. Encourage healthy habits: Physical health and mental health are closely linked. Encourage your teen to engage in healthy habits such as regular exercise, nutritious eating, and getting enough sleep. These habits can improve mood, reduce stress, and increase overall well-being.
3. Set realistic expectations: Some teens are just starting to adjust to life post-pandemic, including their academic and extracurricular activities. As a result, it is essential to set realistic expectations for your teen’s performance and achievements. Avoid putting undue pressure on your teen to perform at pre-pandemic levels. Instead, focus on progress and effort.
4. Create a routine: Creating a routine can help your teen feel more in control and reduce stress levels. Work with your teen to create a schedule that includes schoolwork, leisure activities, exercise, and social interactions. Do not assume they can handle it on their own, the ability to manage stress levels is critical to ensure that your teens develop positive mental health. 
5. Seek professional help if needed: If your teen is struggling with their mental health, do not hesitate to seek professional help. Encourage your teens to seek help if they are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions. Developing and maintaining positive mental health needs to be an active, not passive pursuit. 

Grit is a vital characteristic that teenagers need to develop as they transition into adulthood and can be defined as a combination of perseverance, resilience, and a growth mindset Click To Tweet

 

As parents continue to support their teen’s mental health through validation, healthy habits, realistic expectations, routines, and professional help if needed. parents are giving their teens the gift of developing grit for the future. Grit is a vital characteristic that teenagers need to develop as they transition into adulthood. It is a combination of perseverance, resilience, and a growth mindset.

 

How teenagers can develop Grit

 

Goal setting and planning: Learning how to set goals and creating a plan to achieve them. This process helps develop grit, as it requires working towards a long-term goal and overcoming obstacles along the way. It also helps build a growth mindset, as it focuses on progress and improvement rather than just achieving a specific outcome.

Emotion regulation: Emotional regulation is an essential skill that teenagers need to develop to navigate the ups and downs of life. When teens learn how to identify their emotions and learn coping strategies to manage them effectively; this skill will help them persevere through challenges and setbacks.

Self-care: Taking care of oneself is crucial for maintaining positive mental health and developing grit. Teens need to prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, nutritious eating, and getting enough sleep. These habits help to ensure positive mental health, as well as physical and emotional well-being.

Taking care of oneself is crucial for maintaining positive mental health and developing grit. Teens need to prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, nutritious eating, and getting enough sleep. Click To Tweet

 

Perseverance through challenges: Rather than shy away from it, teens need to embrace challenges and see them as opportunities for growth. Learning how to persevere through challenges helps build resilience, and contributes to a state of positive mental health. It also helps develop a sense of self-efficacy, which is the belief in one’s ability to accomplish goals.

Social support: Having a strong social support system is crucial for developing grit and maintaining positive mental health. As a result, teens need to learn how to build and maintain supportive relationships with family, friends, and mentors. These relationships provide emotional support, encouragement, and accountability, which help develop resilience, perseverance, and a growth mindset.

By building and developing these areas; teenagers can transition into adulthood with positive mental health. As and the ability to persevere through life’s challenges.

While parents can help their teens develop and learn how to ensure positive mental health, the goal should be to help teens develop the grit they need to overcome challenges they might face in future. These skills will be the bedrock that will help teens transition into adulthood.