Today’s teenagers are constantly subjected to various types of anxiety and stress. Doing a good job parenting can be a challenge in these situations. As parents, church leaders, teachers, activity directors, and any other type of individual that deals directly with teenagers, it is essential to know and understand the amount of stress this age group faces, as well as the potential anxiety that may be experienced. As a parent, it is often difficulty to approach a teenager and discuss the topics of potential anxiety and even basic stress. However, it is not only our responsibility as parents, but necessary for the emotional intellect of our teenage children.

What is Teen Stress?

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Parents always hope for the best when bringing a child into the world. When my son was born and I held him for the first time, I could not stop the tears. I wanted my him to be happy and knew that I would do whatever I could for my child and that I would do anything to help him achieve and reach his lifes goals.

The first step in this quest is teaching our kids about responsibility. This starts the moment the child is able to understand and do simple things to the time they reache the teenage years.

Here are some things that will help teach the teens about responsibility.

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Should Your Teen Get A Job? I was surprised to recently learn that when my oldest son turns 14 in a few months, he can legally get a job. I always thought you had to be 16 to get a job, but 14- and 15-year-olds can work as long as they work no more than three hours a day and 18 hours a week during the school year. They also can’t work past 7:00 p.m. during the school year.

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Should teenagers have credit cards? This is a question that every parent is facing these days and there is more pressure on this issue than ever.

As in any debate or issue, there are two very relevant sides to the issue and both sides have some exceedingly valid arguments.

On the one hand, kids having credit cards should teach them how to budget money and make sound financial decisions about money. They learn that if they want something and are responsible enough to work to have it, they can get it now and pay for it later. The down side of this is that peer pressure these days is at an all time high for teens and if they are just hanging out at the mall with all their friends and everyone has one thing and he does not, the credit card allows him to bend to that pressure and go pick up that $300 coat or $150 pair of jeans that everyone else is wearing and he has to have to fit in and be cool. READ More on Teen Credit Cards - A Smart Idea?

by Stacey Schifferdecker

I was surprised to recently learn that when my oldest son turns 14 in a few months, he can legally get a job. I always thought you had to be 16 to get a job, but 14- and 15-year-olds can work as long as they work no more than three hours a day and 18 hours a week during the school year. They also can’t work past 7:00 p.m. during the school year.

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Solving the Great Teen Mystery

by Stephanie Partridge

To many parents (and people - teachers, doctors, etc) teenagers are creatures to be regarded with some degree of caution. The horror stories of teens who dress all in black, paint their fingernails black and walk around with a sullen look on their faces is enough to send even the toughest parent scrambling for cover. We hear stories of teenagers who come home from school or work, head straight to their room where they turn up some awful racket that they call music and disconnect from the rest of the family. This does not have to happen; you can have a good relationship with your teen, even a fun one. If you have not done things to cultivate that relationship when they were younger, don't worry. It is never too late to develop a relationship with you child.

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By Julie Baumgardner

A young mom was talking with her 8-year-old daughter about her day at school when the daughter revealed she had a boyfriend. Mom, in her infinite wisdom said, “You are really too young to have a boyfriend. You should have lots of boys as friends at your age.” The little girl sighed and said, “I know, but when I am 14, I will be old enough to date.” Somewhat surprised by the comment, the mother asked her daughter what you do on a date. With no hesitation, the daughter said, “You have sex.” With all kinds of thoughts reeling through her head, the mother asked, “Where did you hear that?” The little girl told her mother she had heard it at school from her friends who heard it from their older siblings.

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You have probably seen teenagers on television or on the street dressed all in black, sporting green hair with perhaps a facial piercing or two and said to yourself, "not MY kid!" only to go home and see that your own teen is sporting a Mohawk. Don't worry, it happen to the best of us. While not all kids experiment with their appearance to an extreme, some do. It has nothing to do with the way they were raised and is certainly not an indication, in and of itself, of drugs, alcohol or the "wrong crowd." Kids go through stages where they search for their own individuality. They may begin to act differently, dress differently and wear their hair differently.

READ More on Is that a Lip Ring? And Other Questions you Dread asking your Teen

How to Talk to your Teenager

Teens are complex creatures with a lot different things going on inside them. While you feel that, as an adult, you carry all of the stress, you can be assured that teens face a good deal of stress as well. Kids aren't the way that they were when we parents were their age. Times have changed and the kids of today face a lot more pressures and a lot more scary things than their parents did. With that being said, it is easy for a teen to stray from what he or she has been taught and fall in with the wrong crowd or go down the wrong path. However, knowing how to talk to your teen can make all the difference. These five tips will help you open the lines of communication with your teen and keep them on the right path.

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