What is wellness? National Wellness Month commonly highlights exercise and nutrition. But your teen’s wellness is affected by everything that affects them, from school to home to social situations. It is defined by their spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and sexual health.
The way your teen sees themselves —whether they have a healthy, positive self-identity — affects their health. And your teen’s self-perception is connected to how they show up in the world. So, wellness is having a positive self-identity and interacting with the world in healthy ways that align with a healthy sense of self.
What is a Positive Self-Identity?
A positive self-identity breeds high self-esteem, self-love, and self-respect. Here are examples of what this looks like:
- Knowing you are as good and capable as anyone else. You’re no better than others, but no one is better than you.
- Knowing you are valuable and enough just as you are. Being worthy of love is not tied to what you do. You deserve love just because you exist.
- Hope and Resilience. Maintaining self-efficacy and self-confidence after setbacks, losses, disappointments, and failed attempts. Seeing negative life experiences as temporary. Continuing to engage in life with resilience and hope and believing/knowing things will improve.
Healthy Habits for Adolescent Minds & Bodies
How can parents and teens create and maintain wellness? Here are some healthy habits parents and teens can implement.
Supportive Conversations & Unconditional Love
You may be surprised how your child defines wellness, their sexual perspectives, mental and emotional challenges, and what they know about their culture. ASK.
Assure teens that mental and emotional challenges are common, and sexual urges are a part of growing up. Let them know their curiosity is okay. Answer questions and educate them about their bodies. Talk about sex, including the hard stuff, like their level of sexual activity, if any.
Ask them about their social life, including social media, and listen for their feelings and to understand. (JAZ: SOCIAL MEDIA is a good place to link to: Loneliness, Social Media, and Teen Mental Health: What Every Family Should Know)
Listen without judgement, lectures, or advice. Give your teen space to request help or suggestions. If you believe advice or action is needed, explain the benefit. Getting your teen’s agreement, or at least understanding, can help them feel included in decisions and feel empowered.
Cultural Connection
Racism: Resilience & Healing
School pressure along with social media can adversely affect teens. But teens of color have a greater risk of negative exposure, as they are also impacted by the mental, emotional, physiological, and sexual effects of racism and microaggressions showing up in school, social media, and other areas of their life.
Wellness for teens of color often includes healing from the impact and trauma of racism. Sometimes their ominous effects are obvious; other times, neither the child nor parent makes the connection.
Young adults must identify, process, and heal from these experiences to have healthy minds and bodies.
Parents. Invite your teen to share with you what they’ve seen or experienced directly or indirectly at school, on social media, or in other situations. Talk about what happened and their feelings. Share how situations you encountered affected you and how you persevered. Let them know you are here for them and discuss ways to remain safe.
Knowledge of self
Knowing how the accomplishments of elders and ancestors have shaped this world helps teens understand their greatness and builds self-efficacy and resilience. In black families, cultural history is often unknown due to slavery. This is the perfect opportunity for parents and teens to research and learn together.
No matter your background, you have family stories of victories over adversities you can share.
Make cultural and ethnic traditions, music, fashion, stories, cuisine, and spirituality a part of your family life.
According to this Aspen Institute Report, Black, Latino, American Indian, and Alaska Native teens highlighted the importance of community in defining wellbeing. Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native teens reported that wellness included focusing on education, knowledge, and values from their cultural perspective (as opposed to a Western viewpoint).
Go to community spaces like museums, festivals, cultural centers, and spiritual halls with your adolescents.
Apply ancestral, cultural, or ethnic spiritual practices to mental, emotional, physical, and sexual health. Explain how these rituals and belief systems are tied to wellness.
Parents & School: Get Involved!
Parents are busy working, managing the household, and meeting a plethora of responsibilities. However, being familiar with your teen’s school life increases your chances of seeing changes in behavior, routines, or schedules that could indicate a health concern.
Being Available
Parents can also model and help teens practice these healthy behaviors:
- Identifying and understanding feelings
- Communicating needs and boundaries assertively and respectfully
- Using healthy coping mechanisms/tools to manage stress
- Having healthy relationships
- Getting sufficient rest and sleep
- Routinely practicing self-care
- Eating a healthy diet
- Regularly incorporating movement and exercise
Resources
These culturally competent wellness resources can help teens build healthy habits and a positive self-identity:
- Sex Is DC. Resources to support sex-positive, judgment-free sexual health conversations.
- Black Child Development Institute–DC. Culturally responsive resources and support strengthening black children, families, and communities.
- Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). Bilingual mental health services for teens and their families, including substance use programming and school-based services.
- DC Health Youth Advisory Council (DC YAC). Builds youth leadership skills by providing training in public health-related topics such as sexual health, mental health, education, and safety.
- DC Health – Adolescent Health Program. Services for youth mental health, trauma, development, and sexual violence and pregnancy prevention.
- DC Health and Wellness Center. – HIV/STI Testing and Treatment.
LaShonda Tucker
LaShonda Tucker is a freelance writer, poet, and spoken word artist in Atlanta. When she isn't writing, she enjoys playing her violin. She earned her master's degrees from the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University, and her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan.
