Tweens and Teens

This month on The Problem With Perfect podcast, Robin and I created a series about the many mental health issues students are experiencing. During each episode, we interviewed counseling specialists who shared insight into the world of tweens and teens. The information shared by the professionals was daunting:

Disordered eating can begin as early as 10 years of age; 1 in 5 teens diagnosed with an eating disorder will complete suicide,
Anxiety, depression, and perfectionism are epidemics in the tween/teen population,
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10 to 14 and the third leading cause of death among 15-to-24-year-olds,
In the U.S., 20 young people die by suicide every day,
Social media has become an addiction resulting in loneliness, sleep deprivation, isolation, and poor body image.

Although the statistics were staggering, parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, and communities were offered these recommendations:
Listen with love and patience,
Don’t be afraid to bring up the tough topics,
Get involved,
Recognize that times have changed since you were in school,
Check in often.

We also went straight to the source and spoke with a high school freshman, a high school senior, and a college freshman who offered these pearls of wisdom:
It’s okay for parents to be strict,
If you respect teachers, they will respect you,
Use a planner and don’t wait until the last minute to complete assignments,
Doing well in school creates life skills that will be beneficial as an adult,
Send money.

Although this may seem like a shameless plug for the podcast, it is not. We were overwhelmed by the information gleaned. I hope you will take a few minutes to listen and to share these episodes. If not for you, do it for your loved ones, students, athletes, and community. You might just save a life.