Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen – here’s how to help your teenager thrive. A guide for parents.
Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen
Are you looking for ways to raise your child into a happy teen? we all want our kids to grow up happy, dont we?
Ask someone what they want in life, and the answers might differ, but in the end, it can all be chalked down to one thing- happiness. That’s all we really want in life- isn’t it? Our children today, sadly, are born into a highly competitive world, and finding happiness in the middle of it all can be a task.
So here’s what you, as a parent, can do to raise your child into a teen who’s content and happy. Read on…
Encourage Optimism to Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen
When you’re determined to look at the bright side of things, the world can sure become a happy place to live in. Infact, optimism is so closely related to happiness that the two can sure have an equal sign between them. Train your kid to look at the silver lining when things go wrong, and help him look at the positives instead of dwelling over the negatives. This a great way to Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen.
Studies have found that optimists tend to perform well academically and at work, have better marriages and social relationships and live longer and healthier lives. Need we say more?
Set Realistic Standards
A lot of us are guilty of setting unrealistic expectations from our kids, and we often end up disappointed. But that’s not all- it affects our kids more than we can imagine- it lowers their self esteem and makes them question their abilities, and it can all affect their personality as they grow up. Make sure you offer support, encouragement and praise to your kid when he needs it, and even when he fails at something.
Practise Gratitude to Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen
Practising gratitude on a daily basis can have a profound effect on the mind, and if it can do that to an adult mind, imagine the impact it can have on a child’s tender mind. Make it a daily practise to list down or say aloud at least 5 things that you’re thankful for, and get your kid to do the same too, even if it feels forced sometimes.
Make Home a Loving Place to Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen
Having a happy and loving environment at home is one of the best ways to make sure your child grows up into a happy teen. Choose a healthy parenting style, and for the most part, try to be easy and flexible with your little one, without focusing too much over excellence when it comes to academics. Remind yourself that your child is so much more than how much he scores in his math paper.
Offer More Playtime for a Happy Teen
Yes, you read that right. Kids are after all, kids, and for them, playtime is happiness. And guess what? Studies have found that when kids immerse themselves in play, their brain activity is similar to that of when adults practise mindfulness. Allow your little one to enjoy unstructured playtime often- it’ll boost his creativity, spark joy and will help him enjoy and be in the moment- all of which is crucial to experiencing happiness.
Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen by Keeping it Fun
From studying and learning to well, playing- rig your kid’s environment for happiness. Let him explore everything he wants to, and discover all that the world has, without you monitoring him all the time. Limit his time on social media and in front of the television and encourage him to experience more of the real world- that’s what truly offers happiness.
Encourage Goal Chasing for Happier teenage years
As your little one grows, encourage him to set goals for himself, and chase them. There’s a different kind of passion and courage that comes with taking this step, and once your child experiences it, there’s no going back. He’ll actually feel motivated and enthusiastic, and will grow up into a teen that’s happy too!
I hope you have found this list of ways to raise your child into a happy teen to be helpful.
You might also like a peek at my book …Create Your Own Happy an activity book filled with happiness boosting activities for kids. You might also be interested in my Teen Breathe review
More ways to Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen
You might also like my post on How to be a calm parent and how to unspoil a child plus how to be a cool parent and how to be a calm parent tips to get teens to reduce their screen time
Be Happy Be You – the teenage guide to happiness
I am thrilled to tell you about the new book called Be happy Be You that I have co-written with Penny Alexander and which is published by Harper Collins
Be happy Be You is packed with happiness boosting tips science, insights and practical activities to help teens explore and put into practice skills to develop their emotional resilience and literacy. It is a really positive book and it aims to help teens raise their levels of happiness, reduce levels of stress and develop robust emotional health and well-being. It should totally help Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen You can buy Be Happy Be You – a teenage guide
Happy studying – happy teen
Happy studying is not a myth! It can be done – have a look at my post on the best GCSE revision tips to help make it all so much easier. Study skills are a great asset to a teen and will make them feel so much more confident going forward into their exams and college
You might also like this post on prepping a child for secondary school
Over to you for your ways to Raise Your Child into a Happy Teen
I always love to hear from you so do drop me a comment sharing your tops ways to raise your child into a happy teen. I always think that we learn best from each other as parents.
Further reading
If you enjoyed this post on raising a happy teen you might also like a read of my post on what makes children happy
What wonderful ideas you’ve shared.