Regrettably, everyone, of all age groups, is subject to stress. It has doubtless always been like that, but most people would agree that life has become more stressful for everyone since the Seventies, including for teenagers and even children. It is something that we should all bear in mind when dealing with abnormal behaviour from teenagers and children.

Stress outs itself in different ways, but the same way in adults and teenagers and children, although most adults are better able to deal with stress. It is essential to be able to recognize the manifestations of stress in teenagers and children and how to deal with it.

Teenagers are in a particularly vulnerable group. They are mid-way between being dependent children and independent adults and the transition can be tricky, which means stressful.

In the West, approximately 20% of the population are teenagers. Do not forget that teenagers are going through vast psychological, physical, emotional and hormonal changes. Some cope with these fluctuations better than others, but hardly any teenager understands why they are considered stroppy.

There is so much going on in their lives that is new. In other words, they are under stress. That is not an excuse, we have all been through it and stress is not a carte blanche to behave like an idiot.

Sexual awareness is a big stress factor that many teenagers do not how to cope with because they have never experienced it before. This makes teenage girls very vulnerable to older boys who may target them for sexual favours.

Teenage girls are often proud of their budding breasts as a sign of their admission into womanhood, but it does not mean that they know how to cope with the stares of older men and the advances of older boys.

The compensating factor here is that more girls will seek advice than boys. Boys tend not to seek advice, afraid that they will show themselves up. Dealing with family members can be advantageous, although they may be cause of the stress in the first place.

As in all instances of stress for all age groups, it is important to work out what the cause of the stress is, because this can determine how you will cope with it. Sometimes, parents expect too much of their kids, which will stress their teenagers out a lot. Therefore, the best way to help teenagers to get over their stress is to get them to talk about it.

Teenage stress management is a very important issue and many teenagers cannot cope with large amounts of stress on their own. As a parent, you could check that they are not eating too much junk food and encourage them to be active in sport.

You can also be as supportive as possible when your teenager seems to go off the rails for no apparent reason without asking too many probing questions, yet listening to what they tell you. Listening is the best way of helping someone manifest their feelings, nosiness puts people off.