Growing up can be stressful and all children experience stress at some point in their lives. In today's fast-paced, social media-driven, high-pressured culture, teens are reporting higher levels of stress and anxiety than ever before. The videos and articles below are provided in order to help parents understand what is trending nationally and how we can help our kids understand and manage their levels of stress and anxiety in healthy ways. For instructions to view this website in Spanish, click on en Español.
Families Connected Resources
Families Connected videos featuring teens and experts
Mira Costa High School and Redondo Union High School teens share what stresses them out, how they cope, and how parents can help.
Watch the Families Connected Speaker Series event, "Recognizing and Responding to Teen Stressors and Pressures," a panel discussion.
Tips and tools from Anna Pirkl, M.A., MFT, on ways to help our kids reduce their levels of stress and anxiety.
Blogs on teens and stress & anxiety
Dr. Nicole Wesley
Embrace the Pause: How We Parents Can Reduce Stress in Our Students' Lives by Dr. Nicole Wesley
Let's Stop the College (March) Madness by Helen Codron, M.Ed.
My Freshman Experience: How Trying to “Fit in” Came at the Price of Well-Being by Brain Chao
Anxiety: Our Family’s Journey by Laurie James
Things I Wish I Knew: Helping Your Highly Sensitive Teen by a Manhattan Beach Mom
COVID Goal: Good Enough Is Enough by Jill Millstein
Mindfulness For Our Children: Guiding by Example by Danielle Radl
On Being a Mother and a Therapist by Leah Niehaus
Confessions of a Reformed Helicopter Mom by a Manhattan Beach Mom
Stress vs. anxiety
click image to enlarge
Know that all stress isn’t bad. Sometimes stress can be a motivating and positive force, as long as your child has coping strategies and the tools necessary to manage it in healthy ways. The videos and resources on this page can help them develop healthy ways to cope. In this pdf, we show the difference and great area of overlap between stress and anxiety. Know that if your child’s anxiety is becoming debilitating, you will want to reach out for help from your school counselor or a mental health professional. Click HERE to view en Español.
Related resources for parents and guardians
Resources for teens
Curated Gallery of Resources
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National articles and informative guides
Anxiety Disorders (list of types of anxiety disorders and a video) (WebMD)
How to Avoid Passing Anxiety on to your Kids (Child Mind Institute)
How Anxiety Affects Teenagers (Child Mind Institute)
The 10 Things I Say to My Teens When They are Stressed Out (Grown & Flown)
How Harnessing the Positive Side of Stress Can Change Student's Mindsets (KQED)
American Teens Are Even More Stressed Than Adults (Huffington Post)
All Stress is Not Distress (Challenge Success)
How to Handle Anxiety Fueled Refusals to Go to School (KQED)
Why Stress and Anxiety in Teens Can be Healthy: A Psychologist Explains (Grown & Flown)
How to Help Teenagers Get More Sleep (Child Mind Institute)
What is Social Anxiety? (Child Mind Institute)
How to Help Teenage Girls Reframe Anxiety and Strengthen Resilience (KQED)
How to Help Teen Girls Cope with Stress (Greater Good Magazine)
Recommended resources
Angst is a 56-minute film and virtual reality experience that explores anxiety, its causes, effects and what we can do about it. The Angst website is also an outstanding source of information. Click on the links below to visit the following pages.
Recommended videos featuring Denise Pope of Challenge Success
For More Youth Wellness Resources, Visit:
For South Bay parents and caregivers
Go to the South Bay Families Connected landing page to view local events, the Teen Resource Center, to sign-up for the SBFC monthly parent e-newsletter, and more.
For parents and caregivers in the U.S.A.
Visit the Families Connected landing page for non-region-specific, free youth wellness online resources.