The World Health Organisation believes that depression will become the number one cause of the global disease burden by 2030. Mental health is a growing concern globally. As parents, we are expecting our children to change the world but we aren't giving them the tools they need to make this happen. Days like World Mental Health Day shine a spotlight on awareness. Bell's Let's Talk has us talking about it. We need to also do something, but parents are given a mixed message about what this is.Give them space, but don't let them spend too much time alone.They need friends to flourish but the wrong friends can cause social stress and anxiety.Are you pushing too hard? Or maybe you aren't pushing enough?If you advocate are you a helicopter? If you don't help them are you negligent?How much technology is too much? Is not enough possible?Did watching 13 Reasons Why cause this funk your daughter is in?Is she eating enough? If you ask her about her eating will it cause an eating disorder?Is he gay? Maybe he wants to use "they". If ask ask will I make it worse?When I heard Lynn Lyons, anxiety expert say "anxiety- if your child has it, it's your fault. If it was nature- you. If it was nurture- also you" it helped. I have one child with autism, one with hypothyroid, one with Crohn's disease and one with dyslexia. I come from a family who don't historically manage anxiety and stress well. I don't need to know the why; the genetics, the environment, the things that happen in life outside my control. I need to know how to best help my children be confident, kind, and curious.My best advice to other moms trying to navigate parenting without a GPS, figure out what you want them to be then get out of their way and let them while keeping in mind:

1. Connection Matters- No not internet connection. Although your teens will claim that internet connectivity is the most important type of connectivity actual human connection is one key to mental wellness. With teens, friendships can become all encompassing. I like the advice of child psychologist and parenting expert Gordon Neufeld who reminds us“ Absolutely missing in peer relationships are unconditional love and acceptance, the desire to nurture, the ability to extend oneself for the sake of the other, the willingness to sacrifice for the growth and development of the other.” Children need to have an adult mentor in their lives who they feel unconditionally attached to. Parents can help curate these relationships with people who model the values, work ethic, and lifestyle they want for their children.
2. Kids Need a Purpose Too- Gone are the days where "because I said so" was a reasonable answer. We all need to feel that we matter; that our lives have meaning. Kids too! They want to know why they need to learn math, how science will help them become a soccer star, and how eating too much sugar affects their bodies. They need to understand their value as a person. And if they develop a passion, they need space to follow it (even if playing a viseo game or making YouTube videos seems like wasting time to you). As Patrick Cook-Deegan at The Greater Good Science Center said "Teens are naturally driven to seek new experiences—and that may be the key to helping them develop a sense of purpose in life."
3. Let Them Be Themselves- For teens, figuring out who they are is confusing. They thought the liked certain clothes and hairstyles and music and food but then they started to realize that they liked these because their families were pleased when they looked a certain way, ate certain things, or behaved a certain way. In order to test out what they really like they need to put a little distance between themselves and their parents. According to Dr. Shefali Tsabary, author of The Conscious Parent, "Dysfunctional teenagers don't emerge overnight. They are the result of years of subjugated authenticity and false promises. They have been dying a slow death and now have to fight a daily battle just to feel alive. No teen wants to be "bad." They simply don't know any other way to be. The child who grows up to be a defiant teen does so because of a lack of authenticity, a lack of containment, or a lack of connection to the parents—or a combination of these."
4. Show Don't Tell- You want gratitude, model gratitude. You want happy children, work on being a happy parent. You can't tell your child to calm down if you are yelling at them. Don't want sarcasm? Stop being passive aggressive. If you lose your cool, model apologizing. If you make a mistake, model owning it. If children never see their parents fail they will grow up believing perfectionism is attainable and when they make a mistake they will feel small and ashamed.
5. Spend Daily Time on Wellbeing Boosting Practices- Think of meditation, walking in nature, reframing, or learning about your strengths as flexing your happiness muscle. We go to the gym regularly. Take care of your mental health in the same way. Waiting until something goes wrong makes it a whole lot harder. Proactive mental habits will help the healthy and buffer those experiencing a mental health challenge. If your teen is intersted to join you, great! If not, that's ok too- happiness is contagious. If you boost yours, it will impact theirs!

Have a teen story that might help or inspire another parent who's about to hit bottom? Please share!