Preventative Techniques with Adolescents
Starting at home with parents and caretakers
Offer Unconditional Support -- facilitate a positive relationship
- Set aside time each day to talk to your child
- Find out your child's likes and what excites them'
- Encourage your child to express his or her feelings
- Prepare and eat meals together at the very least a couple nights a week
- Recognize your child's achievements
- Do not respond to your child's anger with anger of your own
Foster Friendships and Social Networks
- Encourage your children to get involved (ie. friendships, extracurricular activities)
- Playing team sports may help boost your child's self-esteem and increase social support network
- Pay attention to your child's early interest in dating, the challenges of flirting and dating for teens can be very challenging at this age
Monitor Media
- TV and movies portray idealized characters that children may gauge him or herself against. This may lead to feelings of disappointment which can turn into depression
- Repeated exposure to violent and negative media can aggravate feelings within a child leading to a negative view of himself and fearful of the world
- Some research suggests reading during adolescence can provide an opposite effect thus leading to less symptoms of depression