There are so many situations that teenagers can get involved in that immediately put them in crisis situations. An unexpected pregnancy, drunk driving, a parental divorce, a sibling suicide, abusive dating, are all just a few examples of crisis situations which teens may be involved.
Here are four examples of how you can help a teen through these crisis situations
1.) Build relationships.
As adults, you have to earn the right to be heard. You have freedom to be with teenagers, but you do not have the right to be like them. Be yourself. Be real. Look for commonalities, things that you like to do that they like to do. We’ve all got a past. Use that past to build a bridge with the present.
2.) Be willing to help.
Teenagers are more willing to make changes in their lives during times of stress. They are willing to seek alternatives, other possibilities and need some guidance and direction.
3.) Look for teachable opportunities.
Stories are great teaching tools. We all have stories. Make your stories or use case studies relevant to teens. Be willing to ask a lot of questions, especially questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer. Share your personal values, “this is what I believe.”
4.) Share your basic life skills.
You are a model. Teens are watching you and how you handle crisis situations in your life. They look at your problem solving skills and often times use them as their own. So if you solve your problems with alcohol, they may do the same. So be careful how you live.
Often times just forming a relationship with a teen will help prevent many crisis situations they may find themselves in. Most just want attention and someone to talk to. Remember when you were a teen? If your parents were aliens from another planet, who did you talk to? Aren’t you glad that person was there for you? My person was my youth pastor. He didn’t just use those four examples with me, he also used a fifth.
5.) Share your faith.
He was real. He was simple. And his faith went beyond the stained glass.
If you are a parent of teens, get your teen into a youth program where they have the opportunity to make and form relationships with other adults. But for safety sake, look for programs that require background checks on the adults in their programs.
Jan Sullivan
AprilWord
Jan Sullivan received a Masters Degree in Youth Ministry from Asbury Theological Seminary. She served as a youth pastor for thirteen years in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. She published her first book, Forever Family, in July of 2008 and is currently working on another. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her dog Abby and spends her time loving teenagers and consuming Christian fiction. Modeling her life after Christ, the great storyteller, Jan hopes that her stories will lead young people to make decisions to follow Christ.
jan@aprilword.com
http://www.aprilword.com
If you are a parent whose concern that your teen is suffering from a crisis, then you will want to read this article. A teen crisis can be things like performing poorly or skipping school, all the way up to alcohol and drug abuse or unprotected and promiscuous sex. In this article, I will give you some steps on how you can handle a teen crisis.
First, understand it is common for everyone to experience crises in their life. The fact is that most teens cannot avoid suffering from a traumatic experience. However, how they react to such traumatic experiences can lead to your teen suffering a crisis in their life.
The fact is that most teens experience their feelings in extremes, compared to well-adjusted adults. Add to the fact that the teenagers are at a time for exploration and curiosity, the chances of your teen being exposed to a situation that can cause a crisis is high.
However, there are some things you can do to help handle a teen crisis, to make sure your teen doesn’t suffer permanent emotional or physical damage in their life. Let’s discuss some of those techniques now.
First, be aware of what is causing the stress in your teenager’s life. Unless you’re aware of what your teens stress level, you won’t be prepared if a crisis occurs. Also, by being more aware of the levels of your teens stress, you will have warning signs before a teen crisis occurs. Finally, you’ll be able to help them work with their stress in a positive and proactive way, instead of a reactionary way.
Second, you have to understand the feelings of vulnerability teenagers face. They are in a very confusing time in their life, especially in terms of what direction they’re life will take. If you don’t provide support when your teenager feels vulnerable, then if they suffer distrustful and dramatic experience, they may make poor decisions because they’ll feel they can turn you for support.
This means that your teenager won’t face fears, but that they will know that they can come to you if they are afraid.
Finally, understand that each person has different coping mechanisms. If you interfere with a positive coping mechanism, you’ll further create stress and conflict between you and your teen. As long as your teen is coping with a crisis in a way that is positive, and will help them be able to grow from the crisis, you should let them cope in their own way.
In conclusion, I have given you some tips on how to handle a teen crisis effectively.
Steven Ross has written a number of excellent articles on how to solve Depression and Anxiety. To read more, go to http://www.depressionandanxietyreport.com – Depression And Anxiety