All Kids and Teen Articles

Teenage Independence - What Do You Do When They Leave The Nest?
By Jan Gamm

I envy those mothers blessed with highly efficient offspriAll Kids and Teen Articles › Edit — WordPressng, who keep their rooms perfectly clean and ordered and who find Saturday jobs as soon as they reach the age of fifteen without being bribed, and who display such an independent streak, their parents never have a day s worry about how they will survive in the big, bad world.

I am not one of those parents. I am one of those who excavate skull pendants and safety pin necklaces from the washing machine filter, along with the occasional banana skin or a bracelet made from ring pulls. My nerves are hardened to a steely shell built over years of finding strange and alien items under my child s bed, not to mention three years worth of empty cups and glasses, the unimaginable remains of which are still adhering to the edges of the plates and solidified to a concrete like crust. Lovely!

I am the stolid survivor of a phone call from the school to say would I ask my daughter to refrain from drawing three dimensional penises on her jeans. She had drawn them with such consummate skill they appeared to be leaping out of her back pocket I was assured by a scandalized deputy headmistress.

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The wisest parent would, of course, refuse further funds until better sense was being shown, but I prefer the saying you are only young once to look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. This last font of wisdom obviously originated with someone who has never met my daughter. Paper money runs away like water and pennies get left in your jeans pockets and eventually go in the washing machine - everyone knows that!

What, I ask myself, panic stricken, is she going to do when faced with her first utility bill, or her first mortgage payment? Will she even read it? Will she shove it under the bed, site of her favored filing system since she was about eight years old? Will she lock herself out of her accommodation on her first night and be stranded, at the mercy of passers by and any lurking villain? Will she remember to lock the door at all?

My dearest girl is not one of those to whom maturity has come easily. Life s responsibilities have always been to her a bit of a drag much better to scoot out the door and head for the beach with a crowd of friends than iron next week s laundry, let it wait till tomorrow. Well, why not indeed. The problem is, the same pile of ironing is still waiting for her attention three months down the calendar and her bedroom resembles a bomb site.

Now that this lovely, affectionate, sunny child is ready to fly the nest, how will I survive without her tread on the stair, or the sound of her trying to break into the house at two in the morning when she has forgotten her key? Who will drive me mad with requests for rides to town when she is gone? And how will I heal my poor breaking heart if any harm comes to her?

Jan Gamm writes reflections on life with an emphasis on world travel. She has lived in many countries and traveled extensively in the Far East, the Middle East, America, South America and throughout the South Pacific. She writes for fun and for money whenever she can manage it.

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Teenage Stress And Anxiety
By Karla Jones

Anxiety and stress levels in teenagers have drastically increased over the last few decades. As the responsibilities of the world around them lay on their shoulders heavier, more and more teens are facing health problems both on the physical and on the emotional sides. As a parent, it is hard to handle these conditions or often even know that your teens are facing them. Many times, it is easy to chalk up the teenage stress and anxiety a child is facing as just normal teen problems. Yet, serious conditions are often present and should be addressed as quickly as possible.

Why Teens Suffer From Anxiety?

Teens, just like adults will suffer from anxiety as well as from stress from several reasons. First, these conditions can be hereditary, and they can have a much greater likelihood of this happening to them if their parents have had conditions such as anxiety.

For the most part, teens and children who suffer from anxiety and from stress have factors in their lives that push them in that direction. For example, they may be faced with things like divorce of their parents, stressors at school and even peer pressure. Although most parents do not realize it, teens are under a great deal of pressure in many areas of their lives. Sometimes, the body and the mind react to those conditions in the way of anxiety and/or stress.

Symptoms To Notice

Often, these conditions may be overlooked. This is common because the symptoms associated with stress and anxiety are those things that most of us would relate to just normal, teen behavior. Nevertheless, it is necessary to identify if there is a problem and treat it accordingly as it can be harmful to their health in the long run.

Symptoms of anxiety and high stress levels include:

Feelings of uneasiness. Something just does not seem right although there may be nothing wrong

Abdominal discomfort that does not seem to come from a physical condition

Dry mouth

Rapid heartbeat that is not due to physical exertion

Dizziness

Shortness of breath not associated with physical exertion

Frequent need to urinate

Tightness in the chest, sometimes escalating to true pain

Diarrhea

Problems with swallowing

Insomnia

Irritability or anger that seems unfounded

Fear

The feeling of just not being in control

Inability to concentrate on tasks

Treatment Options

The treatments for teenage stress and anxiety may include several things. First, identifying and removing pressure is often necessary.

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Additionally, medications are available to treat anxiety problems, including benzodiazepine tablets. Yet, medications should be considered with caution and for the worse cases as they generally have side effects that are not pleasant or healthy either.

Alternative

For those that are looking for an alternative treatment for stress and anxiety in teenagers, there are many treatments available to choose from. For instance, there are certain herbs that have been shown to treat anxiety effectively. To continue reading and find out which herbs help to treat anxiety naturally visit teenage stress and anxiety.

Article written by Karla Jones. For more information on anxiety in teenagers visit teenage stress and anxiety.
To learn more about anxiety and depression as well as treatments visit: anxiety disorders and natural treatments.

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