Parents reveal teenagers are at their 'most difficult' at age 15

A study of 1,000 parents of teenagers found 75 per cent think the ages of 13-19 are the most challenging years of raising children, with 32 per cent admitting they were ‘unprepared’.

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Coping with their mood swings is the most stressful thing about parenting a teenager (35 per cent), followed by helping them to make important life choices (32 per cent) and allowing them to make their own mistakes (31 per cent).

But nearly three in 10 found it difficult to help them through the anxiety of exams, with 29 per cent ‘shocked’ at the impact the Leaving and Junior Certs had on their child’s stress levels.

Worryingly, 66 per cent of parents believe their child reached a point where they felt unable to cope with school, exams or the pressure on their education.

And 47 per cent think it affected their teen’s mental health, while 44 per cent believe it hit their confidence.

Stress also led to those teens who were feeling the pressure becoming more argumentative (37 per cent) or angry (36 per cent), while 32 per cent lost sleep.

Getting good grades is the top school worry, according to 45 per cent of parents, along with remembering everything they revise (37 per cent), and what happens if they fail (36 per cent).

Other stress triggers around their education include the impact of the pandemic and home-schooling on their grades (31 per cent) and living up to their parents’ and teachers’ expectations (25 per cent).

As a result, 27 per cent think exams are too stressful for teenagers and 32 per cent believe there is too much pressure placed on a child’s education.

It also emerged 29 per cent of those polled via OnePoll felt powerless to help their child with exam stress, with simply talking to them the most common way parents tried to alleviate the anxiety.

A third tried to give them space, 30 per cent tried to make sure other areas of their lives were calm and organised and 27 per cent ensured they had a healthy diet.

But 27 per cent of parents believe they felt more stressed about their child’s exams than their teen, with one in five (20 per cent) going as far as to say they felt unable to cope.

TOP 20 MOST STRESSFUL THINGS ABOUT PARENTING A TEENAGER

1.            Coping with their mood swings

2.            Helping them to make important life choices

3.            Allowing them to make their own mistakes

4.            The fact they spend so much time on technology

5.            Helping them to manage their emotions

6.            Dealing with hormonal changes

7.            Helping them through their exam stress

8.            Trusting them to make their own decisions

9.            Helping them to plan and make decisions about their future

10.          Worrying about them doing well at their exams

11.          Them wanting their independence/ more independence than you want to give them

12.          Helping them to deal with their body image and feel confident

13.          Communicating with them about sensitive, tricky or embarrassing subjects

14.          Fears about the impact of social media on them

15.          Worries that they are going to be bullied

16.          Guiding them through high-pressured education

17.          They are getting into boys/ girls – learning about relationships

18.          Helping them to cope with a huge amount of schoolwork

19.          They are learning who they are as a person

20.          Worries that they will take drugs

Via SWNS