By Sarah Kahn
Staff Writer
South Bay Families Connected hosted an event on “Issues on the Minds of Teens: Discussion and Teen Panel” at the Manhattan Beach Middle School on April 19 featuring clinical social worker Leah Niehaus as the speaker.
The event was organized by the founder of SBFC, Laura McIntire. It was dedicated to informing parents on how they can support their teens as they grow up. The event featured four teen guest speakers from varying high schools in the South Bay to speak about topics such as stress, sleep and technology.
“I’m a therapist in Hermosa Beach,” Niehaus said. “I see high rates of anxiety, depression, and kids just being overwhelmed. A lot of it is due from lack of sleep, high stress levels, academics and otherwise. There are new pressures with social media and the way kids feel excluded or overwhelmed with the current technology.”
The discussion featured Niehaus introducing the purpose of the event, talking about her experience with kids and the negative impact stressful situations can have. She asked the four teenagers several questions to facilitate the discussion, and afterwards the audience asked questions.
Video: South Bay Families Connected shows users how to navigate their website and features valuable resources.
“I discussed teen tress, sleep and tech,” Niehaus said. “And with the teen panel we discussed stress and how parents can help.”
Neihaus used a powerpoint presentation, in order to better the audience’s understanding of the issues teenagers face that also conflict with their overall wellness. She mentioned varying personal situations she has had that lead her to believing that this event was necessary to hold.
“The powerpoint covered statistics on the amount of stress in our country, the teen suicide rate, and the benefits of enough rest and sleep for teens.” Niehaus said. “Also covered basic issues like school and tech.”
Visit SBFC’s website and the important resources it offers for parents.
Niehaus has worked with SBFC in the past. She was one of the parent bloggers and served on their board as a consultant. She wrote the article, “On Being a Mother and a Therapist” which is currently on SFC’s website under the parent blog section. She helped with several video clips centered around parenting tips.
“I helped submit articles that are relevant for the community,” Niehaus said. “I sit on the social emotional wellness committee in the community with the South Bay Families Connected people.”
Visit Leah Neihaus’ website to learn about her experience with therapy.
The event was a part of SBFC’s Teen Wellness Speaker Series, a series of events dedicated to helping connect parents and helping them aid their children work through hardships teens encounter growing up to prevent substance abuse. The series featured several events in the past held at Pages Bookstore, such as “LGBT+ Identities,” which was held to help parents understand the identity vocabulary and offered insight on the experience of gender variant youth.
“The South Bay Families Connected website and talks are awesome for the community,” Niehaus said. “There are great learning opportunities for kids and parents.”
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