Supporting Your Teenager Aims: To show how parents can support teenage wellbeing To offer ideas that parents can implement

Understand The Teenage Brain We now know that the brain is continuing to develop during the teenage years and into their early 20’s. The last area of the brain to go through this process is Pre-Frontal Cortex, which is where: planning, decision making, impulse control, strategic thinking, and weighing up consequences all take place. Synapses that normally go through the prefrontal cortex go through the amygdala – the emotional centre of the brain. So things are experienced in a much more sensitive way Teenagers find it harder to make decisions, plan and weigh up the consequences. They are also more emotional.

Understand what Worries your Teenager Identity Reduced Family time friendships Social Media Anxiety School Peer Pressure What worries your child?

5 Ways To Support Your Teenager Encourage a positive mindset Nurture resilience Promote a healthy lifestyle Help them to manage stress Connect with your teenager by listening, talking and setting boundaries

‘Happiness is not ready made ‘Happiness is not ready made. It comes from your own actions’ Dalai Lama Everyone has significant control over their our own happiness

Action for Happiness See Action for Happiness website – Ways to achieve wellbeing and happiness – YR 7 in tutor time Link to Gradu8

SpongeBob Squarepants 2 | Thank Gosh It's Monday | Music Video | Paramount Pictures International Encourage positivity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImJtoDcb1zo

Nurture Resilience Gently help your child to shift their reliance on support from others (I have the resources) Help your child to use their internal skills ( I can do/try this) Nurture Resilience Build positive attitudes and feelings about themselves (I am good/I am able/ I am kind)

Encourage A Growth Mindset fleas in a jar.mpg Lesley Crawley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Dn2KEjPuc

Nurture Resilience If a parent is worried about their child's resilience they can talk to us and request support via a resilience programme “Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say ‘so what’”. Andy Warhol

Promote a Healthy Lifestyle Time to sleep – without technology Time in - to eat healthily with the family, to share your day and to offer support and set boundaries Time to focus - to do school work Time to exercise – to be happy and healthy Downtime - to listen to music, relax Time to connect – with friends, family and loved ones Talk about each one

Managing Stress A degree of pressure and stress is not only inevitable, it can be a helpful way of motivating people to perform at their best and achieve more. It is when that stress become excessive that it can create a state of anxiety and ‘flight, fright or freeze’. Stress is not all bad

Managing Stress Practice 7/11 with your child

Managing Stress The Headspace App can be downloaded free http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DmqI1u72QLU

Connect With Your Teenager www.healthmatters.clch.nhs.uk Contacts for support and page 11 of planner www.youngminds.org.uk