As a parent or those in a parenting role, you play a critical part in your teen’s success. Supporting your teen to grow healthy friendships is essential. Through relationships, your teen develops a sense of belonging in the world. They gain a more clear understanding of themselves through their interactions with you, their teachers, and their peers. 

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play a vital role in your teen’s growth and success. There are intentional ways to develop a healthy parent-teen relationship, and daily routines provide an ideal opportunity. 

As a parent or those in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your teen's success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-teen relationship while increasing confidence in your teen that they can strive towards accomplishing their goals in life and school.

Now is the right time to gain increased awareness about the challenges that may face your teen related to alcohol and how you can equip them for success and healthy decision-making. 

As a parent or those in a parenting role, you play a vital role in your teen’s health and success. There are intentional ways to nurture a healthy parent-teen relationship, and establishing rules about alcohol helps create the supportive conditions needed for your teen to handle risk.

Teens will not only be noting differences in the world, they may be directly seeking more diversity as they think about life after high school, whether that entails college or the work world. Parents or those in a parenting role can help teens as they make sense of differences among people by having conversations with them about what they observe and creating a safe, trusting space to raise topics to discuss.

Adults and teens alike feel stress. Stress is commonly caused by an external trigger like a frustrated sibling yelling, “You can’t have my new hat!” or a dad insisting a teen end a phone conversation and work on math homework they’ve been avoiding. Feelings of stress are naturally built-in mechanisms for human survival and success. These feelings are the body’s way of warning you when there is a threat and drawing your attention to problems that need to be addressed. A stressor can be one-time or ongoing.  On the other hand, anxiety is the body’s reaction to stress and can occur even if there is no current threat. While all humans experience some anxiety, when worries and fears become persistent, they can begin to interfere with everyday life and impact your teen’s health. As a parent or those in a parenting role, you can guide your teen to learn to identify and manage their stress -- a vital skill they will use throughout life. 

Sixteen-year-olds are working on comprehending what it means to act responsibly. They are:

● working to understand the rules and apply them in various settings and situations.

● growing their independence. 

● increasingly caring for their bodies (eating right, exercising). 

● growing and caring for their relationships (managing their impulses and feelings, empathizing and working through conflict, being dependable, and keeping promises). 

● balancing homework and extracurriculars. 

● contributing to their household (completing chores, cooperating with rules and expectations).