Parenting is full of ups and downs, with the lowest downs occurring when your teen is struggling with challenging emotions and behaviors. Often, these times make you feel like you don't know how to help your child. However, standing strong, providing consistent care, and building a strong network of resources can help you remain focused and give your teen the tools they need. With the right attitude and unwavering support, your teen can go through an amazing change that makes them strong and successful.
At Liahona Academy, we've helped many teens and parents struggling with the same issues, many of whom feel as if they're at the end of their rope. Our dynamic team offers a multifaceted approach that empowers both of you to dig deep and forge a healthy relationship that will push you past this time and beyond. This blog explores the steps and ideas you need to help your teen through this phase, as well as helping you understand the value of asking for help.
Helping Teens Who Are Struggling
Before we talk about ways to help teens change, it's important to look more closely at why they're struggling. Taking this step back removes the emotion you might be feeling and allows you to see the bigger picture. Consider the common issues and ways below that cause many teens to struggle.- Academic Problems: When your teen starts to struggle in school, they lose focus and hope. This may lead to worsening grades, skipping classes, and an overall disinterest in going.
- Emotional Problems: Teenagers who are having problems may have mood swings, angry outbursts, or long-lasting sadness. While this may trigger you to react in the same way, it is essential for you to remain strong and look past their emotions to discover what is behind them. This is a key part of the Liahona program, teaching teens to find the root cause and process the issues in a healthier way.
- Substance Problems: At this age, many teens may try drugs or alcohol for the first time, which could have dangerous effects. When you add in other issues beyond this, it's a roller coaster that can be hard to get past, especially as it starts to affect all aspects of their life.
- Rebellion: A little rebellion in teens is considered normal, but when it becomes physical or dangerous, you need to act. Our team works with teens whose rebellious streak has pushed too far, often with criminal or dangerous consequences. If your teen is nearing this stage, reach out to see how we can help.
- Withdrawal: This time can make teens feel like they're all alone, which often causes them to push away instead of hold on tight. We work with teens in peer groups and individually to address these issues and provide them with the tools they need to improve their self-esteem and remain engaged.
- Mental Health Problems: Let's face it. Many of us would never choose to be a teen again because of the myriad of changes and challenges that happen during this time. And in today's world, the issue of teen mental health is more important than ever before. This is also an issue that most parents can't tackle alone. Reaching out for help can be the thing that helps your teen feel empowered and learn valuable lifelong lessons.
How Can a Support System Help?
Unfortunately, asking for help carries a stigma of weakness, which is the furthest thing from the truth. Recognizing that you and your teen need help and finding the right resources is the key to a healthy life and well-being. Put simply, building a strong network of support is essential for helping unhappy teens become successful adults. And it helps you, too. The support system you create should be made up of several important parts:- Professional Help: We are a residential therapy program helping teens get better. We offer different types of treatment, from residential to day to outpatient, depending on your teen's needs. Our teen consists of a professional psychiatrist, licensed therapists, and five registered nurses on the mental health side. These individuals work together to create a personalized treatment plan, focusing on responsibility, accountability, self-respect, and honesty. Our well-rounded approach helps teens understand their behaviors and choices while giving them the tools they need to take a different path.
- Family Unity: Spending quality time together as a family will strengthen your bonds. It's important to do things with your family that help you bond and understand each other better. This family unity runs strong at Liahona as well, as we help parents with valuable resources and the skills they need to continue empowering their teens when they've completed our program.
- Peer Support: It's important for teens to have a strong peer support system. For this reason, we focus on peer groups to help them gain the skills they need to make long-lasting relationships.
- Community Involvement: It's important to get your teen involved in sports, events, or hobbies in the community that interest them. Self-esteem can rise, and a feeling of purpose can be gained from these activities. In addition, it increases their support system by giving them role models in their coaches and a larger social network of friends. Also, activities like yoga can help your teen learn valuable breathing techniques that help them with anger and anxiety.
Tips That Encourage Change
Once you and your teen have started to work with Liahona, it's time to implement tips that help your teen make effective changes.- Set realistic goals: Talk with your teen about their goals and work together to create attainable goals. Remember, their goals might not be the same as yours. Work on finding the positives and actively listening to their feelings to ensure everyone is on the same page.
- Positive Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement means to notice and reward good behavior. You can encourage your teen to make better decisions and boost their sense of self-worth by giving them positive feedback.
- Consistent Boundaries: Make sure that your family always follows the same rules and faces the same penalties. Structured environments offer stability and help kids who are having problems understand what is expected of them.
- Encourage Independence: Tell your teen that they need to be responsible for their deeds and make choices. As they learn from their mistakes, this boosts their self-confidence and makes them stronger.
- Show Resilience: You can show others how to deal with problems by being resilient yourself. The way you act is a great standard for your teen to follow.
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