The Advice That We Should Be Giving to Teenagers
You’ve seen the top tips for bonding with teenagers, but now it’s time to go a bit deeper than that; now it’s time to give them advice and guidance to help them not only through their time of growth and self-discovery as a teen, but beyond that in their adult lives. Sometimes, whether they admit it or not, the teenagers in our lives need help, which is why you should always be seeking to give it. Below are a few pieces of advice and guidance that you should consider trying to implement to any teens in your life, whether they are overtly showing signs of distress or not.
First of all, every teenager should be made to realise that every body is beautiful, whatever side of the scales they are on. It is important that teenagers realise that is okay to be plus-size and that time shouldn’t be wasted worrying about it; however, this is not to say that it is not okay to be skinnier either. In this day and age there is a lot more openness in regards to ‘different’ body shapes that may not have necessarily been accepted in years gone by. An example of this is the acceptance of the plus-size — this is a brilliant step forward in society and one that is voiced by thousands of people around the world, an example of which is the beautiful Iskra Lawrence. The only problem is, where does it leave those people who are naturally skinny and can’t put on the weight to match the ‘voluptuous’ body type? Where does it leave those that do want to take part in BBG workout by Kayla Itsines and attain the beach body look? The problem is, when such precedence is given to one particular way of living or even one particular body type, no matter what type it is, then the other ones seemingly fall by the wayside in regards to being overtly ‘accepted’. And this is why no teenager, no matter what body size they are or aspire to be in the future, should be made to think and feel that they are in the wrong and making the wrong choices. As long as they are healthy in regards to their weight at both ends of the scale, then it doesn’t matter whether they are skinny or whether they are plus-sized. What matters is that they are healthy and happy, and that is the overarching advice that should be given in terms of weight and body shape.
And in regards to health — you can talk to any teenagers about the benefits of healthy eating until the cows come home and they still probably won’t take much notice. This is because of the fact that healthy eating and drinking doesn’t show an impact straight away, and teenagers are generally not yet wise enough to be able to understand that the best things in life come through consistency and would prefer to see results instantly. Because of this, it may be a good idea to begin your quest to implement a healthier lifestyle on any teenagers in your life by helping them adjust their lives in a healthy and impactful way right off the bat. A good first port of call is their sleeping habits; as you know, sleep is vital in regards to being able to hit the ground running every morning and really get the most out of every day, and it’s important your teenagers know this too. There are a whole host of teen sleep tips that you can seek advice from when seeking to advise your teen on the benefits that sleep has on their health. In helping a teen to create a solid and productive sleeping pattern, you are not only helping them to see an instant bettering of their health, but you may also inspire them to only further their health through wanting to eat healthier and to become more active. The moral of this particular advice is that in order to help a teen see how important health is, you must first seek to show them the benefits — a good sleep pattern does just that.
However, what should always be remember during the implementing of advice to teenagers is that actions speak far louder than words — more important than any words, or even lectures, that you send their way is to be good role model. You child learns by imitating you, that much is a fact; imitation marks a major life milestone for toddlers, and this desire to imitate their parents doesn’t stop for children once they reach their teenage years. Because of this, you should be just as thoughtful about your own actions and the things that you say in front of your teen as you were when they were little. You probably had to watch your Ps and Qs when they were a toddler in the fear that they may pick up on bad language and then take to repeating it at nursery or school for fun, and this type of restriction on your part should be in place even when they are a teen. No, this doesn’t mean that you just have to watch your language; you have to watch a whole host of your actions, such as the way you speak to others; the respect you show to everybody, especially those that are older; the importance of being fair when it comes to dealing with others and the ways of making a honest income; and any limits that should be in place in regards to alcohol. For instance, once your teen is of the age of consent to be able to go out and drink and they do in fact decide to go out, if they have memories of you over-stepping your alcohol limits then they are likely to think that that is an acceptable course of action to take. You should always be open to talking to your teen about alcohol and alcoholism.
What should be the biggest piece of advice given to any teenagers in our lives, however, is that they should never let the adult world break down any dreams that they had as child. Yes, it is important to make a living in regards to financial income, but it is also important to not have any regrets later in life in regards to the life that they chose.
Bianca says
It’s nice to give advice to teens. It will help them grow.