The first part of the week can be a bit rough…but here are some tips to make it better.

Another generation is coming of age in a world of mobile phones and social media…the first who grew up learning “phone” like a language. And the language is something most parents to understand or speak fluently. In a  New York Times opinion piece, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy  confirmed there is growing evidence showing a connection between social media use and teen and kids’ deteriorating mental health, so much so social media platforms should carry a mental health warning, similar to the health risk label on cigarettes. Today’s parents need support. Here is some help for your kids to keep them from social media dangers.

Teen mental health studies have shown extended time on social media platforms can lead to depression, anxiety, and a disconnect in when “feelings of self-worth are being formed between 10 years-old and 19 years-old”.  What can a parent do to mitigate the damage and possible effects of social media on tween and teen brains?  Here are the best tips to help your kids form social media harm.

Preeti Davidson of the Unloveables Podcast has teamed up with Curt Dalton to start Maya4Life, an extensive 8-to-12-week program that works with teens on self-confidence, self-esteem, and learning the different between external validation and internal validation. The program works one-on-one with teens to develop a new sense of self-worth not based on social media validation symbols like hearts, thumbs-ups, and likes.  “For parents that can’t stand their kid’s social media account, then Maya is for you” says Preeti Davidson. “So many parents don’t know what to do when their teen starts posting racy pictures or unhealthy pictures online in order to gain attention or external validation”. 

Preeti Davidson graduated from Colombia University and has worked in the education field and recovery fields for over 20 years now. “One thing teens need is self-esteem and self-confidence so that they don’t become prone to the dopamine rush from seeing likes and hearts on their social media posts.  With Maya4Life, teens develop their own “brand” that they want to be and present to the world going forward.” 

“Rasing 3 teen boys and having edited over 7,000 cannabis-based articles in the past 8 years gives me a unique perspective on the social pressures today’s teens are facing with vaping, smoking, underage drinking, and advanced dating activity” says Curt Dalton, U Chicago graduate and director at Cannabis.net . “Talking to teens about their current world they live in right now and the social pressures they face, not our adult world and pressures we face, is a big paradigm shift. They face constant pressure to drink, smoke, vape nicotine, vape cannabis, and do things we may not have had access to 30 years ago” says Curt Dalton.” 

Maya4Life covers parenting topics, too, like how to get your kids to clean up there room, what signs to look for around possible self-harm, and a what drug should parents of teens worry the most about right now. Maya also works with parents on role-modeling and how to set your child up for success in life even if there are issues to deal with like generational traumas or personal challenges at the parent or child level. 

“Maya4Life gets teens to create the life they want and love in conjunction with their parents, not despite there parents” says Preeti. “Once you heal some of those wounds and have a loving relationship with your teen or tween, you feel so much joy and abundance being a parent again!” 

For more information check out Maya4Life.com and their YouTube channel. 

The Fresh Toast is a daily lifestyle platform with a side of cannabis. For more information, visit www.thefreshtoast.com.

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