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Ways for Parents to Help Their Teens Deal with Stress

High school is filled with academic and social pressures. This article describes some ways that parents can help teens cope with this stress.

The life of a high school students is not carefree. Students have to deal with many different levels of stress including academic and social pressures. They feel a need to fit in with their peers and comply with social standards. They also want to fulfill their parents' expectations, which often involve pursuing a college degree after high school. In order to be admitted into college, students must fulfill many requirements, which involve academic excellence and oftentimes, community involvement. The stresses can really pile up! Parents can help their children cope with these different pressures in variety of ways techniques.

Here are some tips from Life is Positive www.lifepositive.com:

  1. Talk with your child. Keeping communication open provides your child with an opportunity to vent and gives you a chance to help your child come up with appropriate ways to deal with problems.
  2. Don't burden them your problems. Try to explain any family issues in an informative, rather than distressed, tone.
  3. Compliment your child whenever they do well. Compliments can help build a child's self-esteem.
  4. Use humor to help buffer bad feelings and difficult situations. Humor can make such situations less uncomfortable.
  5. Don't overload your child with extra-curricular activities. These can make a child feel overwhelmed, especially if he doesn't have a say in the schedule.
  6. Demonstrate coping skills and self-control. When they are dealing with stress, your kids look to you for an example of how it's done.

If these methods aren't working and you feel that your child's stress level is becoming detrimental to his or her physical and/or mental well-being, you may want to seek professional help. If your child feels uncomfortable speaking with a counselor, try enlisting the help of a family friend, a teacher, or some other adult who you and your child can trust. If that doesn't help, then try professional help in a non-threatening environment.

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