On World Emoji Day, Here’s How To Talk To Your Teenager About Expressions and Emotions
World Emoji Day, helps brings forward an interesting conversation around expressions and emotions in our household. As children of the digital revolution, no child is a stranger to the different ‘sad’, ‘happy’, ‘angry’, or ‘tired’ emojis we are all used to on different online chat platforms. We can easily use these tools to express what we feel at that moment. However, as the world becomes more online, and our child’s social circles become predominantly virtual, are we helping our child express their emotions well in real life?
Teenagers, pre-teens- more specifically your older kids go through a lot of physical, emotional, mental, and social changes at their age. While we have all heard of the famous ‘rebellious’ phase that all teens go through, we hardly take the time to sit and unpack all these potent emotions. Every teen has a unique situation where they are juggling academic expectations, social circle expectations, dealing with online beauty standards, and going through puberty- all at the same time! This is a perfect time as a parent for you to be a support system and a confidante for your child, and aid their expression and validate their emotions.
Simple practices like setting a digital detox every week for an amount of time- where you and your children spend time with each other- screen-free. Scheduling a pampering, self-care session with you and your teen- whether it is going to a nail salon, getting facials, or just getting a pizza with them! These practices become rituals, and these rituals become a safe space for your teen to talk about issues and experiences that bother them.
As a parent of teenagers, you have the utmost responsibility of de-stigmatizing mental health in your household. Talking about therapy to your child, taking your children to support groups, and making it a safe space for your children to be vulnerable- are just some of the ways in which you can help your teenager be confident in their self-expression. Involving the immediate family- and making sure that you schedule time monthly just to check in with one another, talk about upsetting incidents, behavioral changes, etc, makes these changes normal for your child who is going through something new to them!
Another thing to consider on the importance of World Emoji Day is the significance of Positive Emotions. As parents of young teens, we often emphasize how to regulate negative behavior patterns, but spend little time on promoting positive emotions- like confidence, happiness, trust, and much more. In an insightful research article where the researchers study- ‘The neglected role of positive emotions, there is a growing concern about the lack of conversation about positive emotions in adolescent behavior. Instead of just focusing on what makes teenagehood so rough, take this time to appreciate and embrace the growing changes, talk to your kids about self-love, and body-image acceptance- instead of just focusing on the negatives. This breeds an environment for your budding teenagers to navigate this path of adolescence with a level of comfort and confidence that they sorely need! This is the time for YOU as a parent to break generational patterns and welcome your child’s teenage years with open arms!
Parents, here are some online mental health resources that we know will help your teenager navigate the bumpy journey of emotions, hormonal changes, and adolescence!
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