Nathan Wallis: How to help teens cope with climate change worries
My generation worried about Y2K when we were teens was the global economy going to collapse as every computer system in the world failed and plunged us into anarchy? For mum, it was the threat of nuclear war that the baby boomers worried was going to end life as we know it. This generation has climate change another very real and immediate threat to life as we know it. We can laugh off Y2K with hindsight, but it was real at the time.The cold war came remarkably close to nuclear warfare, so it was a very real threat. READ MORE: * Nathan Wallis: Dealing with young people's grief a 'complicated situation' * 'It's hard work being a parent': You really love your kids, but why exactly? * Nathan Wallis: How to cope with teen brain strain What all three have in common is that it is teenagers who are leading the march in calling society to action, and teenagers who are experiencing the greatest angst about it. That gives us a clue right there it may be more about teens learning to express their adult voice and agency, while also learning how to tolerate and contend with issues as all-consuming and seemingly impossible to fix as climate change and nuclear weapons. This does not downplay the importance or validity of the topics but celebrates the developmental stage of life a teen is at where they have the passion, emotion, and free time to really spearhead the changes society needs to make changes us comfortable and slightly less enthusiastic middle-aged parents are too busy to do. So, it is not something we want to shut down society is somewhat dependent on the adolescent brain to spearhead such changes. However, the teen brain is not famous for its ability to self-regulate and control emotions successfully. This is the most creative period of their development in many ways, but also one of the most vulnerable. Rates of anxiety and depression skyrocket for this age group. So, combine this with a fear for our future and climate change, and you have a recipe for an over anxious teen with panic attacks. One strategy is to help move your child from reactive mode (climate change is happening and theres nothing I can do) to a proactive mode (Im going to get everything I can from Bin Inn, so I avoid all unnecessary packaging). A teenagers passion and drive do not always take them in this proactive direction they are somewhat predisposed to follow an emotional reaction rather than a proactive action. Think about the number of children wanting to ditch school and march on the street to protest our inaction regarding the climate, but you still cant get them to rinse the bloody milk bottle out, so it gets recycled instead of going to landfill. So, helping them to come up with some clear actions they can put into practice immediately that benefit the cause they are passionate about will help to bolster self-esteem and resilience as they exercise agency. However, remember they are teenagers spending most of their time in the emotional brain, so if you go straight to suggestions, they will think youre nagging them and not listening. So, first calm their emotions by validating all their feelings of concern about climate change and reflecting back those concerns and emotions to them so they know you have truly listened. Only then will your strategies and suggestions hold any value. Children dont care what you know, until they know you care. *Nathan Wallis is a neuroscience educator and parenting advisor