Many students struggle with stress, and for the most part, it is a normal aspect of high school life. However, some parents worsen this problem by putting unnecessary stress on their children and failing to provide support when students bring up their problems.
Due to the number of parents in high-profile Bay Area companies, students are often expected to go into the technological or medical industries. These career expectations can lead to students overworking or placing overwhelming academic expectations on themselves. These factors, when coupled with personal issues such as bullying or domestic disputes, can lead to a variety of mental health problems. Parents, unfortunately, are often unable to relate to their children’s struggles due to the generational gap. As a result, students sometimes lack parental support, which worsens their feelings of depression or anxiety.
Some may argue that parents have had it far worse than their children, and that the students should learn to deal with their stress.The fact that students have not experienced the same issues as their parents does not mean that they are not worthy of their parents’ support. Parents should ensure that their children are healthy and supported, not show them how bad life can be—that’s the job of the “real world” they so often tell their children about.
It is also important to understand that high school students are teenagers. They are at a stage of life where they are more emotional and impulsive, yet faced with increasing responsibilities. High school, especially in the junior and senior years, is a pivotal time. A student’s academic performance during these years heavily factors into college admissions decisions, and many students are all too aware of this fact. At the same time, they are not adults yet. Most teenagers do not have the maturity or experience to deal with stress, and this is a problem that many parents fail to acknowledge. It is unreasonable to belittle students’ experiences when they have not lived long enough to experience worse.
Even though it may be difficult to relate to the issues of the younger generation, parents should at least make an effort to support their children when they are struggling. Teenagers benefit from knowing they have a reliable adult figure on their side, and invalidating their problems deprives them of this much-needed support. When parents do not listen to their children’s concerns about seemingly minor issues like academic stress, it discourages them from confiding in their parents when more serious problems arise. Even offering a bit of assurance can go a long way towards helping kids learn better coping skills, since knowing that their parents support them no matter what can reinforce their self-esteem and teach them resilience in the face of failure.