Teen Facts
Teenagers need understanding from concerned adults who are well-informed about the generational and cultural realities of our times. It is important to be equipped with knowledge regarding what teenagers in your home and community may be facing. Teenagers desire to be heard and understood. Meeting this need is the basis for building healthy and strong relationships with them!
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Self Esteem...
Youth usually form their opinions about themselves based on what others say about them. These messages either add to or subtract from how they feel about themselves.
- Self-Esteem is built in teenagers when adults tell them how much that they believe in them regardless of their "performance".
- Body image issues can be created when teenagers have an unrealistic opinion about how they "should" look based on how some forms of media defines beauty.
- Self-Esteem increases in teenagers as they accomplish goals. It is important to help them to set attainable goals and reward them when they reach them.
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Friends & Loneliness...
- Peer acceptance is a major concern to most teenagers. The desire to be accepted can be the basis of many of their social behaviors.
- Being rejected by peers is one of the most heart-breaking disappointments that teenagers may face.
- Loneliness can be a main reason why teenagers immerse themselves in video games and internet activities.
- Lonely teenage boys are more likely than others to experiment with drugs and alcohol.
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Depression...
- Depressed teenagers deal with more than occasional moodiness they are in a sustained state of irritableness, crankiness and sadness.
- Depression causes many teenagers to lose interest in activities, as well as withdraw from family and friends.
- Chronic complaints about physical pain (headaches and stomach) coupled with trouble sleeping can be a sign of depression.
- Professional and religious counseling can help teenagers effectively work though times of depression.
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Tough Decisions...
- Some older teenagers purposely under-achieve and procrastinate academically in an effort to avoid the reality of facing young adulthood.
- Deciding who to hang out with at special school functions is a big deal to teenagers.
- Choosing high school classes can be one of the most neglected areas among parents even though those choices shape the future of their children.
- Some teenagers face the daily decision of which route to take home from school because of gang territory issues, drug trafficking and bullying.
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Anger Issues...
- Teenage anger is often the result of unresolved domestic and family issues.
- Teenagers who internalize anger issues are very prone to engaging in self-mutilation and lethal forms of violence toward their peers.
- Teenagers who are regularly involved in athletics and performing arts are usually able to manage their anger better than those who aren't a part of those types of activities.
- Teenagers who learn how to channel their energies into serving others are more easily able to overlook offences that would other- wise make them angry.
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