Decorah Community School District has advice for parents of teenagers during the coronavirus outbreak

Decorah School Superintendent Mark Lane says he has received requests from parents of middle school and high school students asking for advice on how to handle issues such as the importance of staying home, not congregating in groups, and practicing social distancing.

Lane says parents should have a family conversation about everyone's responsibility to follow the guidelines of responding to the coronavirus outbreak.

Child Mind Institute clinical psychologist Dr. David Anderson says the first challenge with teens and young adults may be getting them to comply with the guidelines for social distancing.  Parents are reporting a lot of pushback when teens are told they can't go out and get together with friends. "The fact that data actually is on their side, that coronavirus is less severe for them, is a problem in terms of getting them to follow along," says Dr. Anderson. "They want to see their friends, and don't see why the social distancing should apply to them."  He recommends acknowledging that you know it's frustrating for them to be cut off from friends; loosening the rules about time spent on social media to help them socialize with friends; and emphasizing the importance of not contaminating people who are more at risk from the effects of the coronavirus.

Lane recommends reading the entire article at https://childmind.org/article/supporting-teenagers-and-young-adults-during-the-coronavirus-crisis/