It's the holiday for us teachers so I am all over the place and thought it would be good to post a week worth of posts in one go!
43. Exercise:
Getting enough exercise is very
important. Some teens lead very sedentary lives, rarely venturing out
of the house. If this is the case with your teen, you could encourage them to come
out for a walk with you or join you in some exercise. They may enjoy
swimming or dancing and could be encouraged to join a swimming or
dancing club.
They may decide to take up jogging and
you could support them in this by providing them with appropriate
footwear.
In many playing fields now, a range of
gym equipment has been installed to encourage people to get fitter.
It is a good idea to model a healthy lifestyle yourself. If you get
little or no exercise it is a bit much to expect your teen to start
taking part. Maybe you could both take up exercise and encourage one
another to get fit.
Establishing a healthy exercise routine
will really help your teen in future.
A useful site to visit is:
It explores a range of ways to get fit.
Little and often is the key. Some
teenagers get very involved in exercise one minute and then give up.
Setting small, achievable fitness goals is a positive way forward.
Teenagers can reward themselves when they reach their exercise goals.
With you there encouraging them and cheering them on, they are likely
to start appreciating the benefits of a healthy exercise regime.
44. Inequality:
As teens grow they begin to notice
life's inequalities. They may come from a family who hasn't got much
money while their friends are well off, for example. They start to
realise that life can appear unfair at times with some people
appearing to 'have it all' while other people are starving. It is a
good idea to listen to your teen and talk to them about the
importance of treating other people fairly. You can tell them that
they will have more influence than they think and that people will
listen to them if they treat others fairly. We can all make a
difference and set an example in order to begin to address the
inequality issue.
Discuss Inequality with your teen.
When something happens on The News and it seems unjust, ask your teen
their opinion and be willing to share your view.
If your teen is given the opportunity
to find out about issues that affect their world they are likely to
become well balanced and informed individuals.
If they believe something to be unfair,
encourage them to speak up. If your teen grows up with a strong sense
of justice, they are likely to speak out when they see other people
being bullied of treated unfairly.
It is simply unjust that some groups in
society are excluded. If your teen feels able to discuss this with
you they will learn that being well informed and being prepared to
speak in defence of others who are less fortunate is a good thing.
When your teen goes out of their way to
help others to ensure they are given a fair chance, this should be
encouraged and praised.
Adults are in a position to positively
influence their children. The way we can influence others is by being
clear and fair. This involves listening to others, being willing to
accept that other people have different opinions but if we truly
believe something is unfair, we should be willing to stand up and be
counted. If we can pass this message on to our teens it will have a
positive impact on The World.
45. Lack Of Sleep:
Teenagers are growing rapidly and
developing continuously, so it is important that they get enough
sleep. The problem is that many of them stay up very late and have a
tendency to want to lie-in in the morning. While this may be
acceptable in the holiday, they need to get up on time for school and
work. Studies have suggested that teens benefit from at least 8 hours
sleep a night but only around 15% get this on school nights. This
will affect their concentration and ability to function when given
school work so is an important issue.
When teenagers are younger it is
somewhat easier to influence them. It is a good idea to limit the
amount of time they watch TV or play computers just before bed as it
has been found that watching TV and looking at computer screens close
to bed-time can affect ability to sleep. Drinking alcohol or having
drinks containing caffeine can also disturb sleep. Don't forget, it
isn't just coffee that contains caffeine, as energy drinks and tea
also contain it.
If you can get your young teen used to
a routine where they stop watching screens at least an hour before
bed and they avoid drinking caffeine, they are more likely to sleep
well. If they establish this routine when young they are more likely
to stick to the routine when they get older.
46. Social Life:
Some teens are very sociable and have
an active social life while others are less sociable and rarely go
out. It is good to have a healthy balance between studying, relaxing
at home and socialising. Some teenagers spend almost all their time
out of the house socialising with their friends. They neglect their
studies, fail to eat well and stay up late. At the other end of the
spectrum some teenagers are very shy and withdrawn and hardly leave
the house.
If your teenager is out for much of the
time, it is advisable to talk to them and let them know that they are
overdoing things. Let them know that they need to get their homework
done regularly and that you would like them to be home early on set
days. You could compromise by inviting their friends round sometimes
rather than your teen being out all the time.
If your teen is very shy, withdrawn and
never goes out, it would be good to try and encourage them to mix a
little with other people. They may agree to invite a friend to the
cinema if you agree to buy the tickets, for example.
Social Networking is a way for
teenagers to communicate with one another. Sites such as Facebook
and Twitter are used frequently by teens. Make sure that your teen
understands how to keep themselves safe on-line and that they can
report abuse via the sites so that they can enjoy trouble-free
communication.
47. Popularity:
Some teenagers are very popular among
their peers, while others have a few close friends. Popularity really
matters to some teens while others couldn't care less!
Providing they are happy it doesn't
really matter how popular they are but if this is an area that really
affects them, you can talk to them about this issue. Some teenagers
care so much about what others think of them that they find it hard
to think for themselves.
Tell your teenager they are unique and
that they need to discover the things that make them happy. They
should not be so influenced by their peers that they stop doing
things they enjoy. Teenagers often consider the opinions of their
friends over the opinions of their parents. Sometimes their friends
do not always offer the best advice. When this happens it can be
frustrating to stand by and wish your teen would listen to you. If
this happens to you, try to remain calm and continue to communicate
with them. You may well find that they will eventually fall out with
their friends and at that point they will need you more than ever.
We live in the age of 'The Cult Of
The Celebrity.' People are propelled to success after appearing on a
Reality TV Show, for example.
Some people become over-night 'YouTube'
sensations. People compete to see how many 'likes' they can get via
Social Media and they can become obsessed by receiving their share of
the limelight.
You can help to combat this by noticing
the kind things your teen does. Point out the 'unsung heroes' in
society. These include people who help others every day such as
fire-fighters and nurses.
If your teen realises that being
popular is not as important as being a good and caring person, they
will start to get things into perspective.
48. Tattoos:
Tattoos are very popular among many
teenagers. Some adults worry about this as tattooing is permanent in
many cases. Before going ahead with a tattoo it is important that
you find a reputable, hygienic tattoo artist. Teenagers need to be 18
before having a tattoo.
Before going ahead, your teen should
remember that their tastes may change and when they get older they
may regret having a tattoo of something or someone they no longer
have in their life. It is risky to have the name of a girl or
boyfriend tattooed on their body, for example. They may think that
they will love this person forever but this may not be the case.
They need to think where the tattoo
should be located. It is a good idea to have it somewhere where it
can easily be covered up if necessary. Some companies insist that
tattoo's are covered up when you work for them. This could affect
your teenager's job prospects in the future.
If your teen has considered the matter
very carefully and still decides to go ahead they need to provide the
tattoo artist with relevant health details. The tattoo artists need
to know if their clients suffer from any allergies etc. After the
tattoo has been finished they should provide their client with
after-care instructions. Your teenager needs to be aware that
although laser removal of tattoos can be successful in some cases
here are many examples of tattoo removal failing or leaving nasty
scars so they should take time to fully consider the costs and
benefits before deciding to go ahead.
49. Religious Beliefs:
Religion can create unity or it can
create division in families. Some parents and carers are religious
while their teenagers are not. On the other hand some parents are not
at all religious and their teenager develops a strong faith. This can
cause tension in families. If you are religious and your teenager
does not share your faith, this can be upsetting. They may have no
faith or a different faith. If this happens to you or your teenager
becomes religious and you are firmly against it then the best way
forward is to listen to your teenagers point of view. Take them
seriously and they are more likely to listen to you.
We are all entitled to our opinions and
beliefs and reacting strongly to your teenager because their don't
share your beliefs is unlikely to improve things. Try and find out as
much as you can about your teenagers chosen religion. Being informed
will help you to separate fact from myth. The important thing is to
encourage your teen to live a good life by being kind to others. It
doesn't much matter what a person believes it is their actions that
count most.
50. Independence:
The teenage years
are associated with increased independence. For some teenagers they
become increasingly independent and make good decisions. Their
parents and carers are happy with their life-choices. For other
teenager's, their parents and carers find it very difficult to accept
that they are becoming independent while some teenager's they are
extremely reluctant to start doing more things for themselves.
If your teenager
has a physical difficulty or a special need they may require
additional support and
it can be hard to
decide the appropriate level of risk they should be allowed to take
in order to grow while keeping themselves safe.
In many ways it is
a time of trial and error for us all. When we have children we are
not handed a manual that tells us how things should be done. We have
not studied a degree in Childcare and for many of us we may not have
a support network offering us useful advice.
If we think
looking after young children is hard at times we can sometimes find
the teenage years even harder.
When they ask if
they can go to a party we have to weigh up the pro's and cons before
coming to a decision. We make a decision and we still don't know if
we have 'got it right.'
It is fair to say
we get it wrong sometimes and so do our teens.
Providing we have
considered things carefully and have encouraged our teenager to
assess the benefits and risks then we shouldn't be too hard on
ourselves if we sometimes get it wrong.
We can admit to
our teen that we made an error in judgement and that way our teenager
will realise that it is OK to make mistakes as we can all learn from
them.
No comments:
Post a Comment