Self-exploration journaling for teens

Teenagers have so much to deal with – changing hormones, issues at school, social issues – that a journal or diary may be a good place to sort through it all. Give the teenager in your life a journal or diary and encourage them to write or sketch. If you use a journal, let them see you take the time to write. Explain why you do and how it makes you feel. Suggest some ways to get started. Begin by asking them to write or sketch one of their favorite memories or share something they remember about a family member. Try to encourage them to remember the details as well as feelings of happiness. Or share something you wrote about a difficult time in your life, so that they can see how to work through a problem. When you share the ways in which you deal with things in your life, you help them to learn how to sort through the exciting, sad, confusing, wonderful things that are happening to them. By sharing how to take time to write or sketch, you are teaching them how to take time to take care of themselves.