5 ways youth coaching can support your teen

The teen and pre-teen years can be really tough for young people. The journey to adulthood is a complex one, and it can be really hard for them to navigate without some help and guidance. They might be experiencing anxious thoughts, have low self-esteem and even be struggling to understand who they really are or what they want to become as an adult.

The good news is that there is a lot of support available to young people to help them navigate these challenges and their formative years. Youth coaching is one option that may support your teen through this time of transition, helping them explore what matters to them and the kind of life they want to create.

What is youth coaching and how can it support your teen to grow?

Designed to support the personal growth and development of teenagers and young people, youth coaching can help with personal and academic challenges. With gentle, calm and structured guidance, a youth coach can support your teen in developing skills, resilience and self-belief as they work towards their goals and potential.

How can youth coaching help?

Youth coaching may support your teen in areas such as:

• confidence
• self-belief
• mindset
• motivation
• focus
• academic aspirations and goals
• developing healthy routines
• relationships with family and friends

A youth coach will usually tailor their sessions to the specific needs of each young person they work with and may draw on a range of techniques and tools.

Five key areas a youth coach can help with

Here we explore five key areas that a coach will often help young people to work on and how that may support their development.

1. Get to know yourself better

The teen years are a real time of transition. Children are leaving their younger years behind them and slowly becoming adults. This can be a wonderful and exciting time, full of opportunities and endless possibilities, but some young people can find it overwhelming.

They may be sad to be leaving their younger years behind and be feeling the pressure to ‘grow up’. Or perhaps the opposite is true, and they feel ready to spread their wings but are feeling restricted. Whatever their feelings about this time in their lives, many teens may find themselves wondering: Who am I? Do I really know what I want to do with my life? Am I getting this right?

Your teen may have formed an opinion about who they are that may not be true, based on who and what is around them. Just like when we make first impressions about people we meet that may not be true. It’s so important for them to know that they can question this perception and look deeper to explore their own personality, interests and strengths. They may not be like everyone else, but that’s OK…in fact, their individuality is something they can embrace!

Youth coaching can help teens explore and understand themselves better. It can help them to identify their strengths, areas to work on, and what motivates and demotivates them. The list goes on! Getting to know themselves better, exploring their core values and setting some goals may help your teen move forward into adulthood with a greater sense of confidence and direction.

2. Develop a positive mindset & get out of your comfort zone

Developing a more positive and balanced mindset can be useful for teens working on their personal growth.

With the right coaching, teens can explore how they respond to challenges, recognise what is going well and consider when they might be ready to step outside their comfort zone. This can help them become more open to new experiences and opportunities.

But beware the saboteur! An important part of any personal development programme is looking at outside influences that might derail all the hard work your teen is putting into their personal growth.

A useful step on this journey is for them to think about who they spend time with and how those relationships make them feel. Some people may encourage and support them, while other relationships may leave them feeling less confident or comfortable being themselves. Helping teens recognise these differences can support them in making choices about the relationships they want to nurture.

3. Develop a healthy lifestyle

Teenagers can often feel invincible. However, the habits and routines we begin developing when we're young can sometimes follow us into adulthood. Learning to think about wellbeing and what helps them feel at their best can therefore be valuable for young people.

Youth coaching may help your teen explore everyday routines around areas such as sleep, movement, balancing responsibilities and making time for the things they enjoy. It can also help them to manage academic pressure alongside hobbies and activities outside of school and think about what a manageable balance looks like for them.

4. Build healthy relationships & improve social skills

Youth coaching can help teens to build effective social skills, helping them to think about healthy relationships both now and in the future. Skills such as feeling comfortable introducing themselves to new people, standing up for themselves, and assertiveness can all be useful skills in the adult world as well as during the teen years.

Once our children hit their teens, they often spend far more time with their friends than with us! That can be hard for us parents, but it’s a natural part of growing up and an opportunity to develop social skills and independence.

These friendships are really important in the teen years; they can provide a different sort of support from family. However, disagreements and conflicts can arise. So learning strategies to resolve disputes, distance themselves from unhealthy situations and recognise when a relationship doesn't feel right are all skills that may serve them well into adulthood.

5. Respond to that inner critic and build confidence

The final and arguably most important way a youth coach can help your child is by helping them recognise and respond differently to their inner critic.

We have all experienced it at one time or another - that critical voice on your shoulder that makes us feel unhappy, stops us from trying new things, is constantly reminding us of failures of the past and stops us from moving forward. With pressures from social media, academic expectations and thoughts about their future, young people may sometimes find themselves doubting their abilities.

Youth coaching can support teens in building self-confidence and resilience, recognising their strengths and challenging unhelpful self-beliefs. They can explore ways to become their own cheerleader and reduce the amount of time they spend comparing themselves to others.

Wouldn’t it be great if more teens had the opportunity to develop these skills while they were younger?

It’s OK to ask for help

Is your teen or pre-teen struggling to cope at the moment? There are different types of support available depending on what they are experiencing and what they need.

Youth coaching may support young people with areas such as:

• confidence and self-belief
• motivation and goal setting
• exam preparation and managing everyday pressure
• communication and friendships
• developing healthy routines
• navigating change
• challenging unhelpful self-beliefs

With gentle, calm and structured guidance, youth coaching can give young people space to explore their goals, develop confidence and resilience, and practise skills they may be able to draw on as they grow.

If a young person is experiencing significant anxiety, persistent low mood, self-harm, abuse, bullying or another issue affecting their safety or mental health, they may need support from an appropriate healthcare, mental-health or safeguarding professional.