It is well known that teens' ability to identify and manage emotions effectively has a direct impact on their social relationships, academic achievement, health, and overall wellbeing. But teaching these skills can be challenging. Luckily, there are some tried and true approaches that parents and caregivers can try to help teens develop healthy emotional skills.
How Can Parents Help?
The first step for parents is to recognize the signs of strong emotional skills. Teens that can identify their feelings, stay calm in stressful situations, resolve conflicts effectively, and see things from another person's perspective are more likely to succeed socially and academically. Take the time to discuss what you notice when your teen is upset or angry, displaying aggression, or shutting down. Ask what they are feeling at the moment and encourage them to identify how their mood has changed over time.
Be a Role Model
Parents are best equipped to teach emotional skills because they model them so well. If parents display self-control, empathy, and honesty, teens are more likely to display these same skills. If parents lose their cool, refuse to consider other points of view or lie, children tend to follow suit. Spend time talking about the emotions you feel and why you feel them (given a situation, person, or event). Try not to shy away from strong feelings like anger and sadness; instead, explain why you feel that way and how you plan to deal with those feelings.
Encourage Activities That Build Emotional Skills
There are a variety of activities kids can do at home or outside the home that will help them build emotional skill sets. Some kids enjoy video games, especially those made specifically for training emotional awareness and regulation. Others may have an easier time when they are engaged in physical activity, like playing sports or getting into nature. While whatever gets them moving is good, there are activities that directly target emotional skills and teens may enjoy doing these more than others.
SEL Lesson Plans
SEL lesson plans designed for teens are readily available on the web. Many of the platforms have lesson plans specifically designed for high schoolers, which can be customized to align with state standards. The next step is committing to a particular platform and integrating it into your teen's life—whether that's daily or weekly. The important thing is sticking with it long enough for your teen to feel comfortable with the platform and have some success.
Does Your Teen Need Outside Help?
If you suspect your teen is struggling with mental health issues, it's important to get them the help they need. There are a variety of treatment options for teens struggling with mental health issues. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is often used to treat depression, anxiety, and anger issues. Dialectical behavioral therapy is another popular type of talk therapy that treats issues like anger management and self-harm.
In conclusion, emotional intelligence is important for teens to have because it can help them with their relationships and academic success. There are many different activities that teens can do to build up these skills, and there are also lesson plans specifically designed for this age group. If you suspect your teen might be struggling with mental health issues, it's important to get them the help they need.
1 Comment
very informative and interesting article