Parents can help teens deal with stress

Washington: A recent study has suggested some tips and tricks for parents to help their children combat additional stress and peer pressure as they prepare to enter college.

The pressure of getting admission in a good college, shaping your career and being a part of the elite group, colleges can be extremely stressful! As school comes to an end and teenagers gear up to enter college, they may face more stress than ever and parents can help them cope with the transition, stress and anxiety that comes with it.

According to psychologist B. Janet Hibbs, co-author of 'The Stressed Years of Their Lives', parents can help their children prepare for college, reported CBS News. Dr. Hibbs told the news service that one of the reasons behind the stress is that this generation of college students and recent graduates are facing a moment of "historic swerve."

Dating back to 9/11, she said that the teens have been confronted by the war on terror, climate change, along with economic and political uncertainty, which has led them to believe that the world is a more competitive place and they struggle to make their own place in the fast-paced society.

"A third of all graduate students today aren't even working in jobs that require a college degree, which also leads them to a sense of the fear of failure that anytime they step off a linear path, then, kind of their future is ruined. So it heightens that sense of doom and gloom and fear," Hibbs added.

She also said that the increased focus on academics maybe another reason for the stress. Parents and professors want to make sure that students are prepared for higher education but that doesn't mean they are mentally or emotionally ready, so many students will experience even temporary setbacks as "catastrophic."

Hibbs noted that parents play a huge role in helping their children cope with the stress. Hibbs suggested that parents should have an honest conversation with their kids about their time in school. A conversation between parents and children could do wonders for the kids experiencing negative emotions.

She said that they can ask, "How are you coping? What happens when you have a setback? Who do you turn to? What kinds of things are you doing? Do you share? Do you seek help?" However, Hibbs said that parents also need to look inwards.

"Long run I really encourage parents to recognise that part of these very rapid social changes have affected them and they have to manage their own anxiety by not hyper-controlling their children," Hibbs said, adding, "Which is what many parents tend to do because they themselves are fearful for their children's future."