For many teenagers, a first breakup can feel overwhelming. Adults may look back and think, “It was just a high school relationship,” but for a teen, that relationship may have represented belonging, identity, hope, and a vision of the future. When it ends, the pain can feel very real.

Teen relationships often happen during a season when young people are still discovering who they are. A breakup is not just losing a person — it can feel like losing a part of their daily routine, their support system, and the version of themselves they were becoming in that relationship.
Many teens experience emotions that feel intense and unfamiliar:

• sadness and crying
• anger or resentment
• loneliness
• difficulty concentrating
• changes in sleep or appetite
• feeling rejected or “not good enough”
• questioning their own worth

Because the teenage brain is still developing, emotions can feel especially powerful. The part of the brain responsible for regulating emotions and seeing long-term perspective is still growing, which can make heartbreak feel impossible to move through.

As parents, it can be tempting to minimize the pain by saying things like, “You’ll get over it,” or “There are plenty of other people out there.” While meant to encourage, these statements can sometimes leave teens feeling misunderstood.
Instead, try:

• “I can tell this really hurts.”
• “I’m here if you want to talk.”
• “Your feelings make sense.”
• “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

​Teen heartbreak can also be an important opportunity for growth. With support, teens can learn about communication, boundaries, resilience, self-worth, and what they want in future relationships.
Parents can help by encouraging healthy coping:

• staying connected with friends and family
• maintaining routines
• getting outside and staying active
• limiting checking social media or their ex’s accounts
• allowing time to grieve instead of rushing the healing process

Sometimes a breakup brings up deeper struggles with anxiety, depression, rejection, or self-esteem. If your teen seems stuck, withdrawing from everyone, losing interest in things they once enjoyed, or struggling to function day-to-day, counseling can provide a safe place to process what they are experiencing.

A broken heart at any age deserves compassion. For a teenager, learning how to heal from heartbreak can become one of the first steps toward building healthier relationships and a stronger sense of self.

For many of us, the amount of time our kids spend on their phones is a BIG concern. Add in tablets, gaming systems and movie streaming, is there any time left for families to connect? Technology separates families, the internet can consume time you may otherwise spend together talking, reading, laughing, making meals together, playing games.
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Teens today spend a lot of hours a week in front of a screen. Too much screen time leaves me feeling grouchy, short and irritable. Have you noticed your kids being grouchy, short and irritable? Or saying things like "I have to have this" or "why can't I do that"? Could it be that they are spending too much time on technology?

What happens when you try to limit it?  "All my friends parents don't care how long they are on their phones, they don't have restrictions, you are so overprotective!"  You start to wonder could this be true? Am I over thinking this? Times have changed, this is just what kids do these days., right? Is it really worth the argument and attitude to enforce time constraints?  I want to be bold fellow parents, let's stick together and say YES, it is!

In many homes parents, myself included, lay down rules about internet usage but have a hard time following through with enforcing these rules.  Technology to the rescue... recently, I learned about a free app that can shut off all apps and internet access on a phone. You can schedule your teens apps to go off at a certain time each night to make sure they get their zzz's. If you want to have technology free "family time" with a push of a button internet and apps are gone!  The app is called Our Pact. Their mission is to empower parents to guide their children through the balanced use of technology.

Blocking times when kids can get on the internet without creating an alternative can create a void. If you want more family time, plan it. If you want them to be a better soccer player, get out there and practice with them. Most importantly, we need to think about the relationship we want our kids to have with technology and model it. o empower parents to guide their children through the balanced use of technology.To empower parents to guide their children through the balanced use of technology.