Did Covid really have that much of an impact on our teens? and the teenage sleep conundrum. 7
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Covid has given everyone a real bashing. For teenagers, one upside is that we now talk more about mental health, but at the same time our teens have been stuck in their rooms on digital devices. The number using social media for four hours or more has increased dramatically. Seeing people who aren't in lockdown having fun or looking glamorous just at the time when they want to be branching out is very difficult for teens.
A recent analysis for the BBC says there’s been a 77% rise in severe mental health cases in under 18’s and that head teachers are also reporting a huge rise in less severe mental health issues.
In a recent survey of over 200 of Place2Be’s frontline mental health professionals the common themes that young people have been raising are
· Loneliness & isolation (55%)
· Academic worries (48%)
· Juggling schoolwork (45%)
· Loss of rituals like end of year activities or exams (43%)
· Family relationship difficulties (42%)
A very touching, emotional BBC documentary that helps to see the world through the eyes of school kids and teachers:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0g8c10s/helping-our-teens-series-1-episode-1
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Tips – www.place2be
· Remind your child about everything they want to achieve and encourage them to look ahead.
· Remind them of how valued they are.
· Acknowledge how hard it has been not seeing their loved ones and friends. Help them find ways to do that.
· Respond calmly and in a resilient way and your child will take their cue from you.
· Encourage them to try new things in something they enjoy.
· Check in with your teen. It's really important to find time to connect with them AND to encourage them to talk about their feelings.
SLEEP AND TEENAGERS:
Tips – The Sleep Foundation: get them to review their sleep patterns:
· Budgeting eight hours of sleep into your daily schedule and keeping that same schedule on both weekdays and weekends.
OtoZen — a new driving safety app
Are you worried about your teenager getting distracted behind the wheel?
The OtoZen app helps in real time — not just after something’s gone wrong. It has voice alerts, drive scores, and even safe driving challenges you can set together, it’s the kind of tech that actually helps your teen build better habits.
OtoZen — a new driving safety app
OtoZen helps build better habits in real time with voice alerts, drive scores, and safey challenges.
This episode is sponsored by OtoZen: The brilliant new driving safety app
https://www.otozen.com
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I don't have medical training so please seek the advice of a specialist if you're not coping.
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You can reach Susie at www.amindful-life.co.uk