Emotional Health and Your Teenager

Teenagers are facing a time of transition in their emotional health from childhood to adulthood. There are many pitfalls along the teenage emotional health path, and they are often over overwhelmed with the teenage emotion and physical changes their bodies are going through. The teenager struggles with being dependent on their parents but have a strong need for independence. This causes parents and teenagers alike to suffer from adverse effects with their emotional health.

Teenagers also have the added pressure from friends to pick up bad habits and to fit into a certain group. Add that to the pressure from parents for excellence in schoolwork, sports activities, and often hold down a part-time job.

Some of the signs your teenager will show a decline in emotional health are:

A change in sleep patterns
Sudden weight loss or gain
Trouble concentrating and therefore lower grades
Angry, agitated, or restless behavior
Long periods of sadness
Lack of motivation
Loss of interest in usual enjoyable events
Apathy or extreme fatigue
Low self-esteem
Lack of caring about people or possessions
Contact with law enforcement
Change in eating habits

What can you do to help your teenager develop good emotional health?

There are several ways to encourage a strong sense of emotional health, but one of the most important ways is to keep the lines of communication open.

To nurture your teens emotional health, provide a safe and loving home environment, accepting your teen for the person they are becoming, and develop a relationship where your teenager feels they can talk with you. It’s important for the teens emotional health, for you to be open, honest, and direct with your teenager so they can learn to be that way with you.

To promote good emotional health, you should be teaching your teenager responsibility for their belongings and respect for your possessions. Have your teenager take responsibility for household chores. Your teenager will need to know the basics of housekeeping, laundry, and cooking. They will soon be away from home either at college or living in their own separate household and they need preparation for that.

Allow the teenager to make decisions that are age appropriate and emotionally healthy for them. Teenagers need to develop assertiveness and independence. The only way your teenager will have the ability to do that is to allow them to make some of their own decisions.

Also, teach your teenager the importance of accepting limits. All through their lives, they are going to have someone setting limits on them, from marriage responsibilities, work, and the legal system.

Concerning your teenagers emotional health, it’s important to help your teen develop a positive body image especially as they relate to food.

A positive body image helps give your teen a higher level of self-esteem, it promotes a more confident emotional health. Part of a positive body image is the issue of weight. Many young women have problems with their weight and their image because of what the media displays as what “ideal” bodies should look like. This can happen not only with young women but, also teenage boys can have problems with negative self body image as well.

Encourage them by complimenting their actions by telling them what they do are more important than how they look. Encourage healthy eating by limiting snack foods and providing healthy snack foods for them to nibble on. Make dinner time a fun time and encourage your teenager to choose healthy snacks while grocery shopping.

Encouragement, love, and open communication are all vitally important to your teenager’s mental and emotional health. Be open and let them know you are willing to talk about whatever is on their mind. Your attitude is important to your teenager’s emotional state. Love, even if it means tough love, and be sensitive to the changes that your teen is going through at this time of their development.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This website was prepared by an independent distributor and is neither approved nor adopted by Life Force International.

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