Parent Teen Night: Emotional Health
This section includes topics like understanding and resolving emotions, emotional intelligence, self-esteem, identity, and more!
Creating an Identity
Figuring out who we are is a big part of life! This handy pie chart is a fun way to look at all different parts of ourselves. Print them out for you and your teen, then take a few minutes to work on them. You can also fill one out for your teen and your teen can fill one out for you. How similar are they to the ones you filled out about yourselves? Check out this blog post for some information you can discuss, too.
Growing up Stressed or Growing up Mindful
This Ted Talk by Christoper Willard gives some simple mindfulness exercises to help relieve stress.
How to Make Stress Your Friend
Teenagers are uniquely vulnerable to stress. In this 15-minute Ted Talk Kelly McGonigal urges people to see it in a different light and gives a powerful mechanism for combating the negative effects.
Mental Health Checklist PDF
This checklist has a list of some signs of mental illness and a place to rate how much they sound like you. Take this with your teen and discuss the answers you both wrote down.
Gratitude Journal PDF
This two page handout has a place to write five things you are grateful for each day for eight days. Discuss gratitude with your teen then challenge each other to do this activity for a week. Choose a small reward for if you accomplish it!
50 Emotional Coping Strategies PDF
Print this pdf and discuss ways we can process our emotions in a healthy way. Tape it to your fridge or on your teen’s mirror after.
The Power of Vulnerability
This Ted Talk by Brene Brown discuss vulnerability in a powerful way.
Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity
This short Ted Talk by Robert Gupta, a violinist for the LA Philharmonic, talks about the healing power of music. After he speaks he comes back out and plays a Bach piece on his violin. Discuss your favorite songs, your teen’s favorite songs, and what music means to both of you. You could also listen to different types of music like opera (I love Nessun Dorma) and discuss what you like and don’t like.
The Transformative Power of Classical Music
This humorous 20 minute Ted Talk by Benjamin Zander delves into classical music and music can transform us. Even non-musicians will enjoy this one!
Own Your Face
Robert Hoge explores why we all need to own our own faces. He shares his personal story and examines, life, love, beauty, imperfection and pain.
My Philosophy for a Happy Life
17-year-old Sam Burns was diagnosed with Progeria, a rare, rapid aging disease, at the age of 2. In this beautiful Ted Talk, given before he passed away, he talks about his philosophy for living a happy life.
