4 WAYS TO HELP YOUR TEENAGER DURING LOCKDOWN

This is how you can make your adolescent process emotions positively during a difficult phase


Social distancing can be hard, especially for teenagers used to spending most of their waking hours with friends. Now, during this lockdown, several teenagers are struggling with being confined to the home.

“Most teenagers are experiencing insomnia or sleep pattern disruptions. They’re sleeping at 5 or 6 am and getting up in the afternoon. There is a lack of concentration and focus, low motivational drive, and irritability. They’re getting into scraps with their parents over home chores. Their use of social media and gaming have gone up. And unfortunately, even pornography,” says Dr Zirak Marker, senior psychiatrist and advisor at Mpower - The Centre.

Experts share how to help young adults deal with the situation:

Find the trigger

“First, figure out why the lockdown is difficult for them,” says clinical psychologist Priyanka Kartari. “Is it because they don’t have access to their friends? Is it because they don’t like the house? Sit down and figure out what you can do to make it easier for them.”

Set a firm schedule

Dr Marker believes setting a proper routine with fixed timings for meals with the family, exercise, socialising with friends, sleeping, etc.

will help teenagers get back on track. “None of us has fixed a time for exercise or socialising with friends online. It’s important for parents to bring everyone together for basic interaction — whether it’s breakfast/lunch/dinner.”

Give them freedom

Now that they’re confined to the house, many teenagers are struggling with a lack of independence and the ability to make decisions for themselves.

According to Kamna Chhibber, HOD, Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, adolescents need reassurance. “Engage them in decisionmaking and provide them with opportunities to make choices, not just for themselves, but for what activities the family can do together.”

Don’t overwhelm them

“It is critical that parents themselves remain calm and relaxed,” points out Chhibber. She says that parents should hold back on sharing troubles and challenges with their kids, who can get overwhelmed. Focus on helping them express what they are going through. “Give them the space to share their thoughts and keep giving them reassurance,” says Chhibber.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No One Ever Dies

Don’t fear death, for there is more to life than death, writes V S KRISHNAN Sri Narayana Guru, the Kerala-born saint-reformer, was walking through the streets, when he heard a wailing sound from a house nearby. Apparently, a death had occurred there and relatives were crying bitterly over the demise of their dear one. He moved on, feeling sympathy for them. After some days, when he happened to pass through the same street, he remembered the house where he had heard sobbing sounds earlier. But now no perceptible change was visible there after the death that seemed to have brought profound sorrow. The initial shock of death seemed to have subsided and all normal activities went on as usual. ‘How soon and how smoothly we come to terms with death,’ wondered Sri Narayana Guru. What is death all about? Does knowledge of death help us lead a better life? There were many studies on the subject of death. It was young Nachiketa, son of Saint Vajasravas, who went right into the abode of Dharmaraj
Read more

The 'Day of Your Birth' has been secretly ruling your life!

Astrology- Significance of Day of birth All these years, we continued to cherish and celebrate the date of our birth, but do any of you remember the day you were born? Was it a Monday, Friday or a Sunday? Not just the date and time of birth, even the day has a huge influence in our life. Birth number and day of birth According to astrology, the birth number plays a major role in deciding one’s future, but did you know that the ‘Day of your birth’ has been having a secret control over your life? Days of the week in astrology As we know, each day of the week has its own distinctive ambience. Astrology also assigns a particular planet to a particular day. For instance, the Sun rules Sunday, the Moon rules Monday, Mars rules Tuesday, Mercury rules Wednesday, Jupiter rules Thursday, Venus rules Friday and Saturn influences Saturday. Astrology and personality connection So, by astrological design, the day you’re born influences the dynamics that distinguishes you from other people. It become
Read more

Too much screen time? Here’s how to switch off

If your work and leisure both involve looking at electronic screens, it may be a good idea to give your eyes a break Nothing has worked as hard over the lockdown period as your computer, be it for work, to catch up with your friends and family over video conferences, or to just sit back and let entertainment programming do its thing. And since multiple studies have linked excessive screen time with an increase in anxiety and stress, here are a few tips on how to switch off: Turn off notifications This would help you get back in touch with the real world and ensure distractions don’t impact your mental health. Keep some of the important notifications on, like those pertaining to work, but social media and news alerts can be done away with. Set time slots If you cannot swear off social media altogether, give yourself 30-minute windows where you can look at your accounts, but ensure you don’t cheat on this. For best results, you can partner with a family member, and you both keep each oth
Read more