Anxiety is an increasing epidemic in our teen population. Anxiety can seriously disrupt your child’s daily life, making it hard for them to focus in school, build friendships, and join in activities. Getting help early on is essential for teaching them coping skills and building their resilience. At Teen Speak, we are dedicated to providing parents with the most up-to-date information available to help you understand and support your teen struggling with anxiety. We have created a Toolkit to provide information with easy to use strategies and ideas to reduce these feelings in teens.
We’ve been working with professionals across healthcare, schools and community-based organizations to enhance their knowledge and skill in addressing anxiety in youth. We are so passionate about this topic and we know it takes a village to raise & support our teens.
While anxiety is a VERY normal feeling for our preteens and teens, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t space to take more action as parents. It’s important for us to show up for our teens and prompt conversation that will not only allow them to share their feelings, but to provide them with solutions.
Here are 4 steps to take as a parent to level up your conversation with your teen about anxiety:
- Build mutual respect by asking permission and showing empathy (ie: “Can I share something with you?” and “It’s hard to deal with negative comments on social media.”)
- Talk with your teen, not at your teen (ie: “You have a lot going on right now. What do you need in order to feel less stressed?” instead of “This should not be making you feel sad or stressed out. It is no big deal.” )
- Foster self-worth and self-esteem. Teens whose strengths are recognized will be motivated to develop those strengths. (ie: “You are a caring friend and are trying to work things out with Lisa.”) Teens who are always told something is wrong with them will wilt, and are more likely to use substances, report depression and anxiety, and have sex at an early age. Empower them to take care of and value themselves.
- Facilitate conversations, try not to always lead them. Use fully open questions like: “Tell me about school today” rather than “How was school today?” and actively listen to what your teen shares. Summarize what you heard and use open-ended questions to encourage them to talk more. End with a key question: “Thinking about everything you shared, what will help you feel less stressed?”
Bonus Tip: Put away your phone.
Recent studies are showing that parents’ excessive smartphone use could be harming their children’s mental health. And while technology is very much part of our everyday life, we have to be sure we are finding pockets of time without device use to really engage and be there for our teens. You can read more about the study here.
For a deep dive into our Anxiety Toolkit, download the PDF right here.