There is so much focus on life balancing between work and life for adults, but not teens. While teenagers may not be doing full-time jobs, they still have a lot of pressure to deal with. They are trying to manage school plus any after-school activities, sports, part-time jobs, and responsibilities they have to deal with at home; then, they are also trying to fit in socially with their friends.
They need to understand that they have someone to talk to if they are feeling distressed. As a parent, if you feel distressed, you should talk about your feelings to your teens. This may make them open up to you quickly. Let them know, if necessary, they can always approach you or a teacher at school.
Teenagers should learn how to set their priorities and to know that they don’t have to be excellent students or geniuses. While most teenagers do have goals, these need to be realistic goals.
To help your teen set priorities of their own choice, discuss with them about due school assignments. Using an online calendar or app is always a fun way to help them get effective.
Tell them about your priorities first, so they can see how you handle them. If they have many assignments pending, instead of working on all of them each night, it may be better to juggle just one or two at a time.
All teenagers and adults, for that matter, want to be good at everything. They want to be super students, be good athletes, or get the lead character in the school play. This often leads both of them to be involved in way too many activities at the same time.
Talk to your teens about choosing only one to two things they enjoy doing and try focusing on just those; they will hopefully enjoy doing them more and will naturally excel in those selected fields.
The teen years can be a very emotional time. Schoolwork, pressure, and hormones can play havoc with their emotions. If you check that your teenagers seem extra passionate, entice them to explain their feelings to someone. This is better for them to share with someone than to keep their emotions bottled up inside.
Set an example for not giving your children many issues when it comes to coping with all the problems that high school and just teenager holds. Now, life balancing is not an issue for your teenagers.
