Remember your gawky tween/teen years?
Knowing how challenging, complex, and complicated theses years can be, we can help tweens and teens to become better equipped to navigate these years that are fundamental in:
Shaping their self-view and self-confidence.
Developing self-advocacy skills.
Learning and using executive functioning skills.
Acquiring problem solving skills and critical thinking skills.
Planting the seeds for independence.
Between the ages of 10-17 there are so many physical, social, and emotional changes that occur. These years can be rough for tweens and teens as well as their parents, and the entire family unit. It can be difficult to decipher what obstacles are from “typical” growing pains that often are experienced during this transitional time in their lives, or when it is impacting them to an extent where additional support is needed.
You may be noticing that your tween/teen is experiencing some or all of the following challenges:
- Having trouble with executive functioning skills as your tween/teen is:
- Overwhelmed by their homework, struggling with time management, exemplifying difficulty starting and finishing tasks, and finding it challenging to develop and apply organizational skills.
- Experiencing difficulty navigating social dynamics:
- In general social dynamics and interactions are notoriously challenging during these years, and now with social media and navigating during different stages of a global pandemic this brings this already difficult stage to a whole new level of intensity. You may notice that your tween/teen is having:
- Difficulty navigating peer interactions in general or specific areas of challenge when navigating friendships.
- In general social dynamics and interactions are notoriously challenging during these years, and now with social media and navigating during different stages of a global pandemic this brings this already difficult stage to a whole new level of intensity. You may notice that your tween/teen is having:
- Struggling with developing and using self-advocacy skills such as:
- Having trouble speaking up for themselves and expressing their wants and needs.
- Exemplifying signs of lacking confidence and having difficulty with bouncing back from setbacks such as:
- Displaying characteristics of not being confident and developing a negative self-view and an inability to be resilient.
It may be challenging for you to figure out exactly what your tween/teen is experiencing, because at this stage, many want to feel more independent and are less forthcoming with sharing information and emotions. You may become frustrated as well because you desperately want to help, and you’re not sure how best you can do that. It is important that you know that you do not need to figure this out alone!
As a coach Jill Hollander offers support to tweens and teens and in turn their families during this developmental stage of change and transition. As a Certified Health & Life Coach Jill has culminated the skills that she learned from her personal experiences of rising with resiliency when dealing with extreme health & life challenges, her ten plus year career in speech-language pathology helping others to communicate and be their own advocates, and her coaching expertise as she coaches 10-17 year olds to learn and use a variety of tools and strategies that: foster mindset shifts, develop executive functioning skills, improve their ability to navigate social dynamics, create self advocacy skills, promote their ability to use problem solving skills, build confidence, and resiliency.
Parents often come to Jill with these concerns about their tweens and teens:
Their tween/teen is having difficulty with executive functioning skills and some of the specific ways that it is impacting them is that they are having trouble with:
- Managing their time.
- Creating and following through with a plan.
- Organizing, starting, and finishing tasks.
- Feeling overwhelmed about their homework and that they never have time to complete assignments.
- Prioritizing their homework assignments and how much time each one may take.
- Organizational skills in general.
- Remembering and recalling dates, times, events, etc.
Parents have expressed to Jill that their tween/teen is experiencing challenges socially such as:
- Not knowing what to say, do, or how to act around their peers.
- Making and keeping friends.
- Being able to initiate conversation.
- Showing resistance to making plans with friends or inviting friends over.
- Holding grudges after arguments and it is impacting continuation of those friendships.
- Having difficulty dealing with the gossip, the drama, and fighting that is happening in their friend group.
- Having trouble finding their people, those that treat them right, and make them feel good about themselves.
Jill often hears from parents that their tween/teen is having difficulty speaking up for themselves such as:
- They don’t express their wants and needs, speak up for themselves, and/or stand up for themselves.
- They don’t ask for help from their teachers with difficult assignments.
- They don’t raise their hand to ask questions in class.
Parents have come to her with concerns about their child’s confidence:
- They feel that their child’s lack of confidence is impacting their success in sports, socially, and in general.
Jill has helped these tweens and teens and she can help yours too.
Working with Jill as their coach, your tween/teen will:
Improve their:
- Time management skills.
- Ability to make a plan and follow through with it.
- Organizational skills.
- Memory skills.
- Overall executive functioning skills.
Develop tools and strategies that:
- Foster positive self-talk.
- Promote mindset shifts.
- Create a self view that serves them.
- Help them to better manage their emotional reactions, responses, and be able to reframe their challenges.
Become more equipped to:
- Learn and use tools, techniques, and strategies to believe that their voice matters and to begin to find, use, and own their voice to become their own self-advocate.
- Speak up for themselves.
Improve their overall confidence and self-view:
- As they develop and use techniques that will foster feelings of self-confidence.
- Become better equipped to bounce back from setbacks, adjust to change, and to feel well-resourced to hope, cope and deal.
Jill believes that open dialogue and clear communication helps to build a foundation for a great rapport and improves overall ability to integrate what is worked on during the coaching sessions to all aspects of their lives.
Jill offers weekly individual sessions virtually with the tween and teen for 60 minutes. Included is regular and consistent communication with their parents.
Let’s work together, to help your tween/teen to develop foundational life skills now that will set them up for success in the future. Interested in learning more?
By participating in/reading my speaking & coaching services/website/blog/email series, you acknowledge that I am not a licensed psychologist or health care professional and my services do not replace the care of psychologists or other healthcare professionals. Coaching is in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling or any other type of therapy or medical advice. I will at all times exercise my best professional efforts, skills and care.
