1. Reduce Your Teen's Workload
While a full schedule may look good on a college transcript, it can also cause major burnout and make it tougher for your teen to excel at the things that matter most. Remember, your daughter doesn't have to be prom queen, class treasurer, a softball player, a pet shelter volunteer, a straight A student and everybody's best friend to get the love and respect she deserves. You can relieve some of your teen's stress and make life more manageable by subtracting a few activities from her schedule to improve her performance in others. Work with a school counselor and your teen to find out which activities should be shelved.
2. Increase Physical Activity
Teenagers are young and should have plenty of energy. One way to burn off that energy is to exercise. Whether it's in physical education class or an extracurricular activity, a teenager should have at least one physical activity incorporated into his schedule. Encourage your teen to play sports such as baseball, football, tennis or track to help relieve stress and forget about other responsibilities for a while. If your teen is more solitary, a solo sport such as swimming, running or yoga can help as well.
3. Rest and Sleep
Teens love to stay up late, but doing so actually hinders their performance during the day. Without 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours sleep each night they are making it harder for themselves to focus on their assignments during the day or their homework at night. It may take some convincing, but make sure your teen heads to bed early enough to get a good night's sleep.
4. Talk to People
Teens who are eager to assert their independence can bottle things up and try to figure everything out for themselves. This is admirable, but hardly conducive to relieving stress. If your teen approaches each challenge as a personal obstacle, she'll end up totally overwhelmed. The best thing your teen can do when she feels stressed out is to talk to others who've been there before and learn from their experiences. In addition, there are many professional one-on-one and group counseling options available for teens, usually for free and through school or local community centers.
5. Meditate and Relax
Meditation is growing in popularity as people everywhere are beginning to truly appreciate the benefits of turning their thoughts inward and forgetting the world around them. Teach your teen to meditate by simply closing his eyes, or teach him to use ritualistic meditation techniques such as japa meditation or prayer.
