Thrive With Your Family: Teens and the Pandemic

How to help teens emotionally adjust to social distancing and how to balance increased media use along with online learning and socializing. 

12:39 PM

Author | Rachel Zeichman

A nationally recognized panel of Michigan Medicine specialists tackle stressors, concerns and difficulties families face in the ever-changing environment of the current global pandemic. With candid conversations on parenting, the group addresses child behavior, mental health and relationships. Find all the episodes here.

MORE FROM MICHIGAN: Sign up for our weekly newsletter

In the third episode of Thrive With Your Family, host Jenny Radesky, M.D., along with two guest adolescent specialists, Elizabeth Koschmann, Ph.D., and Ellen Selkie, M.D., discuss how to help teenagers process the COVID-19 crisis, filled with social distancing, missed milestones, like graduations and dances, and adapting to online schooling. Questions covered by the experts include:

- How do we keep teens motivated to continue schoolwork and socialize from home? This answer addresses engagement, depression in teens and how to guide adolescents to stay in touch with emotions in a healthy way during this time. (4:50)

- If families already struggle with communicating with teens, are there ways for parents to encourage conversations? (9:10)

- As a parent who is at the cusp of peers becoming more important to my child than me, can you articulate what peers have that I don't have in a practical or developmental sense? (19:15)

- One of the major tasks of adolescence is identity formation and individualism. Why are peers valuable for this, and how is that formation changing when identity formation is occurring in person versus online? (22:12)

- Should you be restricting the amount of time teens are online playing multiplayer games when you know they are also socializing? (25:54)

- If you had previously established restrictive boundaries for technology and being online at home and now need to transition to online learning and other interactions happening online, how do you navigate that shift? (37:10)

Editor's note: Information on the COVID-19 crisis is constantly changing. For the latest numbers and updates, keep checking the CDC's website. For the most up-to-date information from Michigan Medicine, visit the hospital's Coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage

Interested in a COVID-19 clinical trial? Health research is critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Our researchers are hard at work to find vaccines and other ways to potentially prevent and treat the disease and need your help. Sign up to be considered for a clinical trial at Michigan Medicine.

Like Podcasts? Add the Michigan Medicine News Break to your Alexa-enabled device or subscribe for daily updates on iTunesGoogle Play and Stitcher.


More Articles About: Children's Health Growth and Development Community Health Covid-19
Health Lab word mark overlaying blue cells
Health Lab

Explore a variety of health care news & stories by visiting the Health Lab home page for more articles.

Media Contact Public Relations

Department of Communication at Michigan Medicine

[email protected]

734-764-2220

Stay Informed

Want top health & research news weekly? Sign up for Health Lab’s newsletters today!

Subscribe
Featured News & Stories kids on bus schedule covid cells popping up blue
Health Lab
Back to school viruses: what’s new with parvovirus B19, RSV, flu and COVID in kids
An expert shares more about back to school seasonal viruses, such as parvovirus B19, RSV, flu and COVID.
mom in hospital bed holding newborn baby
Health Lab
RSV shot protects infants during peak season: What parents should know
For the first time, families will have a long acting option to protect infants and high risk toddlers from a common respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of children to the hospital every year.
doctor shot vaccine child invisible blue orange green black
Health Lab
Are parents seeking vaccine advice from their child’s primary care provider?
A recent national poll found that parents may not always turn to their child's doctor for advice on vaccinating their children.
children under 5 covid vaccine
Health Lab
COVID vaccine for kids under 5: What to know
 Pediatric infectious disease expert shares insights on vaccine development for babies and younger kids, advice for parents.
Child tired purple skin color in bed covered with yellow blanket.
Health Lab
Children in remote school faced more sleep, behavior and social challenges
Researchers compare experiences between Michigan families whose children were in-person, remote or hybrid school a year after the pandemic began.
children vaccinate parents media covid
Health Lab
11 myths about COVID vaccines and kids
A pediatric infectious disease expert responds to frequently raised concerns about vaccinating kids against COVID.