Parents, High School Seniors & Stress

Today we are going to discuss a very important topic; raising teens during their senior year of high school and helping your seniors manage the stress that comes along with this year.

We all know that senior year is stressful not only for the teens but for the adults around them because when they are stressed than so are we, right? An annual survey conducted at UCLA by John Pryor and colleagues which involved more than 190,000 first time full time college freshman found that 30% of college freshman said that they often felt overwhelmed during their senior year of high school. This number was considered to be a large one. I must admit that I expected it to be 100%. Nonetheless, we all agree that the kids are stressed.

This is no surprise given that school work, social lives and extracurricular activity demands are now competing with college application demands. As a parent the best thing that you can do for your stressed out teens is to help them develop a balanced schedule that respects their needs for work and relaxation. As parents you have a wonderful opportunity to teach them lifelong skills during this crazy year.

Consider helping your seniors deal with stress by:

1. Helping them develop a schedule and consider showing them your method of managing time.
2. Encouraging them to take breaks. Remind them that those who also play tend to be efficient, less  burnt out and more rejuvenated.
3. Help them by eliminating distractions like their phones etc. while they are trying to focus. They may not love you in the moment for this assistance but as parents we are fond of saying “They’ll appreciate it later.”