In today’s world economy, just about everyone has questions about where the future is going and what will become of them. Fears about the economy, money, politics, and international affairs are the centerpiece of news media today that only further fuel our insecurities. As the evening news touts national concerns about the Middle East, job security, and foreclosure ratings, parents aren’t the only ones feeling the stresses of modern culture.

79 percent of teens today report being fearful of their own future. 79 percent! While the world today is confusing enough for most adults, teens are feeling even more despondent. Naturally, teens focus in on the dramatics of life and stress out about the things that aren’t going as planned. They don’t fully understand why the world is the way it is, or when it will get better.

It is common for teens to over-exaggerate things that happen around them, especially concerning their future hopes and dreams. To promote teen success, parents need to help their teens be informed about things that are happening in the world around them; the better educated teens are about world events, the more positive and informed their decisions will be.

There are a number of things that parents can do to further encourage teen success. One of the most powerful is establishing an environment of emotional safety at home. This is the environment where teens discover the majority of their life skills and personal responsibilities. Home has daily routines that are different from an organized school structure, yet ideally, they share a common atmosphere of teamwork, trust, and a willingness to see things from another person’s perspective.

Teen success is easily correlated to how informed teens are about the world around them. Parents are the first line of information for their teens. When parents are aware of their teen’s surroundings, the media they pay attention to, and the conversation their teens are having, parents then have a better idea of how to explain what is happening in the world to their teen. Parents can help their teens process media information by acting as a filter and encouraging teen success by preventing negative news from tearing down their psyche.

If there is one thing that teens do very well, it is crafting their own assumptions without the whole story. Teens are masters of extremes and it is natural for them to jump to conclusions. Parents can better ensure a positive future for their teens by staying aware of the conversations they have while within earshot of them; this will reduce the amount of stress that teens tend to place on themselves and better uphold their own psychological success.

There are several places where parents can find help and support in providing their teens with the guidance they need during these troubled times. Through parenting seminars, online resources such as webinars and parenting web sites, teleseminars, and the like, parents can find answers to important questions to help them promote teen success. A few of the main topics that parents should focus on include questions such as, “What is the difference between goal setting and goal achieving?” “How can teens create a positive mindset on their own?” and “How can parents guide teens toward excellence in their lives?” With support outlets such as these, parents have the opportunity to reach their teens before the hard world issues begin to affect them long-term.

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