NEWS BABY NAMES HAVING A BABY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTING CHILDCARE EDUCATION

NEWS BABY NAMES HAVING A BABY FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS PARENTING CHILDCARE

EDUCATION

10 Common Problems and Issues

Teenagers Face Today
SOPHIE • MAR 5, 2022

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I took a good look at my teenager, followed him around, interviewed him and
other teenagers, did some research, and this is what I found.

What are the most common problems teenagers face today?

moren hsu via Unsplash

Teenage Problems

Recently, I attended a school program with other parents of teenagers. The

conversation was mainly complaints about raising teenagers. Each parent was
only adding items to the list of complaints, but offering no solutions. I searched
the net, but the result wasn't much different . . . most articles are about how to
get your teen to clean their rooms or be more responsible, how to handle
rebellious, defiant, out-of-control, aggressive teens . . . but not much is written
from the teenager's perspective.

This got me thinking that what we need today is to look at the problem in a
different light. I took a good look at the teenager I raise, followed him around,
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spoke to him awhile, talked with other teenagers, and this is what I found.
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10 Most Common Issues Teenagers Face Today

1. They suffer from negative body image.

2. They long to belong to supportive and accepting communities beyond their

family.

3. They experience stress and difficulty prioritizing and managing their time.

4. They feel lots of pressure from peers, parents, and society to conform to
conflicting expectations.

5. They are at risk of mental and physical health issues.

6. They lack good mentors, role models, and heroes.

7. They are tempted to begin unhealthy patterns with drugs and alcohol.

8. They are exposed to on-screen violence and unhealthy social media.

9. They face bullying—online and off.

10. They may participate in risky sexual activity and behavior.

Each of these is described fully below, with suggestions for how a parent can
help navigate or avoid these problems.

Common Problems That Teenagers Face Today

1. Issues With Body image

During the transition from childhood to adulthood, while their bodies are
morphing into new shapes and sizes, teens are struggling to come to terms
with their bodies and get comfortable inside their own skins. The cherubic child
is gone, and they are left looking at a stranger in the mirror: gawky, gangly,
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hairy, zitty, and unfamiliar.

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Eating disorders (including anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, etc.) typically

start just before and during adolescence, and 95% of people with eating
disorders are between 12 and 25 years old. (SAMHSA). Eating disorders can
affect a teen's health, mood, relationships, and day-to-day functioning.

Eating disorders affect women more than men, but more young men are
more prone to something called muscle dysmorphia, where they become
unhealthily obsessed with being bigger and more muscular.

Even if the discontentment with their body doesn't cause them to excessively
exercise or make themselves sick, the ongoing and pervasive feeling that
their bodies are "not right" can have many lasting negative effects on their
lives.

Teens feel pressure to conform to many unhealthy expectations regarding their bodies,
behavior, and appearance.
Ian Dooley via Unsplash

2. An Unmet Need for Community and Identity

I see many teenagers struggling to find a place in society, wanting to be

recognized by their peers and accepted for what they are. This is one of the
most important tasks of their lives at this juncture, and they are faced with a lot
of anxiety and insecurity as they work around this.

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When teens get the message that they don't fit in and don't belong here, it can
lead to feelings of isolation, disconnect, and depression. The television shows
marketed to this age group normalize bullying, premarital sex, aggressive and
violent behavior, and rule-breaking. You are cool only if you own all the brands.
What is a teen to do? Is it their fault if they are confused, defiant, or out of
control?

Take my son as an example. He was brought up to be respectful, helpful, kind,

gentle, tolerant, follow moral and biblical principles of honesty, integrity, etc.,
but in the world, he gets the message that these values are passé. Even his
friends don't accept him, though they know that when they are in trouble they
can turn to him for help.

He is like most teenagers who haven't yet found a group of friends that accepts
and loves them the way they are. This feeling of not belonging is prevalent and
affects all aspects of a teen's life.

Teenagers want to feel like they belong to a community, but many teens have trouble
finding acceptance.
William White via Unsplash

3. Time-Management Stress

Stress increases at school, and the older they get, the number of projects to be
done, tests to cope with, and social drama increases, not to mention sports
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and other extracurricular activities.

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Scroll to Continue

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On the social front, a new and tantalizing horizon opens up—dating, partying,
and hanging out with friends. Meanwhile, they are constantly distracted by
electronic media. A teenager learning to juggle all of these expectations is
under a lot of stress.

The teen is suddenly expected to act like an adult. They are expected to
manage their work independently, make and follow through on the right
decisions, and manage their finances.

Though most parents complain about filthy bedrooms, untidy shelves and
cabinets, smelly socks, missing stuff, I wonder . . . where is the time!? They
simply can't do it all, and the pressure makes them more prone to anxiety and
depression.

4. Social and Parental Pressure

Oftentimes, parents live through their children and expect their kids to achieve
everything they wanted but did not have. Expecting the teenager to get good
grades, have great friends, excel in extracurricular activities, and be well-
behaved, responsible for themselves, and sometimes for their younger siblings
is a lot of pressure.

Added to this is peer pressure. To be accepted among peers and to become

"popular," teens feel pressured to conform in their tastes, behaviors, and
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appearance.
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When all the people surrounding the teenager are attempting to mold him/her
into a different shape, the pressure builds. Parents, teachers, family elders,
siblings, friends, schoolmates, and social groups all play a part and pull the
teenager in different directions.

Trying to conform to academic and social expectations takes a toll on teenagers'

physical and mental health.
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5. Mental and Physical Health Issues

All of these things affect a teenager's health:

Poor nutrition. The eating habits of teens are poor and unmonitored. They
are urged towards eating disorders, either starving themselves or binging on
unhealthy, fatty, high-calorie junk food.

Lack of sleep. In an effort to do and be it all, the teen sacrifices sleep. They
require about nine hours of sleep, but on average, teens get roughly seven
hours. This means that every day, they are running at a deficit.

Depression and anxiety. Hormonal changes, added to the chaos and strain
of scheduling, prioritizing, achieving, and fulfilling expectations, put a teen
under considerable emotional pressure. This is reflected in mood swings,
aggression, depression, anxiety, and sometimes even a complete
breakdown.

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Mental and physical health are connected. If your teen isn't healthy physically,
it will have an effect on his psychology and vice-versa.

6. A Lack of Positive Role Models and Heroes

Often the biggest bullies, richest spoilt brats, and the most self-destructive kids
are held up as the most enviable and popular. The media glorifies these
people, and bad behavior is applauded in movies, sports, and music. Wherever
they go, our children are fed on a diet of lousy role models and are imbibing the
depraved values of those "heroes" portrayed in the media.

Peer pressure can lead to drug and alcohol abuse in teens.

Apollo Reyes via Unsplash

7. Drugs and Alcohol

33.2% of high school seniors in the US reported drinking alcohol within the
past month.

In 2017, by their senior year in high school, 5.9% of teenagers in the US had a
daily habit of using marijuana.

In 2017, an annual survey of drug and alcohol use among teens in the US
found that almost 40% of all 12th-graders surveyed had used some kind of
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illicit drug in the past year, and 55.7% had used alcohol.
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Both alcohol and marijuana can damage a teenager's developing brain. It's so
important to talk to them to find out what is happening in their school and
peer group, discover what they're exposed to, and educate your kid about the
dangers.

8. On-Screen Violence and Unhealthy Social Media

When used responsibly, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social

platforms can be great ways for teens to connect with the world, but when
used irresponsibly, they are problematic. Violent video games promote
aggression and violence. Going online exposes teens to bad characters, mean
people, unhealthy images, porn, violence, and sexual content.

No matter what you do, there's no way to protect them entirely. It's up to
parents to know what kids are doing online and teach them how to interact
with the internet safely. To learn more, read How Does Social Media Affect
Teens?

9. Bullying

Approximately 30% of teens in the US have been affected by bullying—either as

a victim or as a perpetrator. 1 in 3 students in the US say they have been bullied
at school, but now bullying happens online, too. Many don't know that bullying
can be direct or indirect, which includes gossip and rumor-spreading. Many
kids don't even know what cyberbullying is or fully understand the potentially
damaging effect of their online behaviors.

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10. Risky Sexual Activity and Behavior

According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), more than half of
teenagers in the US have had sex by age 18. Although there has been a decline
in teen pregnancy in recent years, that doesn't necessarily mean they are using
protection: Out of 20 million new STD diagnoses each year, more than half of
those affected are between the ages of 15 and 24.

Despite the facts, surveys consistently show that most parents don't think their
children are sexually active. Again, it's so important to talk to your kids about
sex, even if you don't think they're having it.

How can you help teens deal with these problems?

Annie Spratt via Unsplash

Helping Teens Deal With the Problems They Face

Teens today are forced to live at a very superficial level, on the edge of society,
with no acceptance and very little positive affirmation. They are expected to
learn how to live from the internet and television, where they find little
emphasis on moral value or personal excellence. What a paradox is the life of a
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teenager is today!
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What Can Parents Do to Help Their Teenagers?

What we need is a paradigm shift of who our teens are and a clearer view
of our role as parents.

We need to look at ways to help teens, amp up our parenting skills, stop
complaining, and take responsibility for our teens right now.

We cannot ignore our parental duties. Even though they're in their teens,
they still need us, just as they did when they were little. Cell phones,
computers, and other gadgets that they spend time with cannot give them
the nurturing they need.

Provide a healthy and complete meal whenever you pack it or put it on the
table. Make vegetables and fruits interesting.

Build lines of communication that are so strong that your children always
look to you as allies instead of enemies. Communicate positively and avoid
commands and I-told-you-sos.

Discuss and establish rules for chores, homework, driving, dating, sex, and
drug and alcohol use. Keep talking about all these issues.

Let them know that you don’t always have all the answers and you are not
always right. Listen to their opinions and offer help whenever needed.

Be graceful enough to thank, appreciate, and love them at every possible

occasion.

Punishing teenagers does not really work, but disciplining teenagers does.
Make sure your policies are helping instead of hurting.

Be willing to listen to their point of view. Give it a good thought before you
trash it. An encouraging and supporting attitude goes a long way.

Fear of failure is one of the greatest reasons for stress, so help them manage
their anxiety and build self-esteem.

Look out for signs of stress, anxiety, lack of concentration, poor eating
habits, poor oral and personal hygiene, disturbances in sleep, and
plummeting of interest in social activities, and address them immediately.

If your teen shows any signs of anxiety or depression, get them help
immediately.

Most importantly, let them know that you care!

Wishing you all success!