Stress & Teens

Disclaimer--> normally, my blogs won't be this long :)

If you've ever been interested about what stressors adolescents have, then read on........I had my students make a poster with pictures about things that that are stressful in their lives and I'm grading them now. These were the most popular ones they wrote:

-brothers/sisters
-getting cut from sports teams
-my mom and dad always yelling at me
-all my friends smoke/drink and I dont
-politics
-teachers giving too much homework
-war
-my parents are getting a divorce
-po-lice
-when my parents drink
-wishing I could be skinny
-being "ashy"
-hair/makeup/shaving/pimples
-trying to eat healthy when I like junk food

Some of the kids put really interesting or difficult things down:

-My dad is in Iraq
-parents fighting for custody of me
-My best friend was killed in a gang shooting
-my mom lost her job and we are broke
-I have a heart condition I might die from
-"my brother died in a car accident and I think about it every time I see a car"
-my mom won't let me get dessert because she thinks I'm fat and I have ADHD.
-getting this girl pregnant
-the guys I like are always going out with someone else or don't like me b/c I'm not pretty
-raising my daughter

This is all so fascinating to me because the intensity and amount of stressors each student has is directly correlated to behavioral issues and their grades. A couple kids have suprised me because they are getting A's and seem so together, but their life is a mess. By reading all these posters, it gave me a real insight into each and every one of these kids and now I understand them better and can help them.

Health Teachers...............try it!