Teens should be careful about calling friends and “ragging” about something or someone. The more they dwell on an issue, the more time they’ll waste on it and the more wound up they’ll get. Encourage your teen not to call someone up and take her on for something that happened that day. Waiting a day to bring it up will give your teen time and a good night’s sleep, which will provide a better perspective on the problem.

Urge your teen to ask for help to sort out difficult issues. Friends may want to be supportive, but taking a friend’s side may not always allow them to give the best advice. A good rule of thumb is that if something bugs you for more than two days, then it’s time to find someone outside your usual group to talk with about it. Encourage your teen to pick someone she respects: a parent, relative, minister or rabbi, neighbor, teacher, or therapist.

Teens will benefit from planning their homework for the week; it’s often necessary to start big projects earlier than they think they should. By pacing themselves and distributing their workload throughout the week, they’ll do better work and be less stressed. And if a teacher springs another project on them in the middle of the week, they won’t get completely crazy but will be able to get it done.

It’s important for teens not to sit around for hours moaning