Teens and Confidence
(I am an Invisalign MAB member and one of my sons is receiving complimentary treatment but all opinions completely my own!)
Teens and confidence.
Yep. I remember in my teen years how hard it was to find stability when it came to my confidence. Actually, forget my teens, I struggled with it last week! It never fully goes away.
But when you’re a teen and you’re finding your place in the world and figuring out where you fit and how you want to look and what you might want to do with your life…..it’s a lot to deal with!
But self-confidence can be a trap. If we build our confidence in ourselves then it’s fragile and unstable. BUT if we build it in God it is on a solid foundation and can never break. Can I get an amen?!
Even though we teach that to our kids, to look to God for their strength and security, life is a journey and can take a long time to really have that kind of unshakable confidence. I’m not sure we ever fully get there on this side of heaven. And while we are looking to God for our source of confidence, we still have to find our personal style, career path, learn how to have relationships….so many things that make us unique and amazing!
It’s a lesson in focusing on God and enjoying the grace of life at the same time. It ain’t easy for anyone!
Right now I have 4 teens, 2 girls and 2 boys. My boys are both in homeschool and quickly becoming young men. It’s happening WAY too fast for this mom! These 2 are a real blessing!
One thing we deal with in our family is very. crooked. teeth. I blame my husband. His teeth are much worse than mine. But I don’t tell him it’s his fault because then he would bring up all of the weird OCD problems our kids have and you can only look to me for that mess. Let’s call it a draw.
Anyway, while we are teaching our kids that their confidence should come from God, we are also sympathetic to areas where they feel insecure and we help them if we can. Several of our older children had traditional braces. That worked out OK, but had its share of issues to deal with. So we decided to use Invisalign with these 2 boys and have been thrilled with that decision!
Surprisingly, they both LOVE the process and the responsibility of taking care of their aligners. I’ve seen them grow in maturity from it and they each deeply appreciate the sacrifice our family makes to pay for the treatment (which is true of the traditional braces as well, of course!). Our willingness to do that for them has given them a confidence of knowing how much we value them!
They each have such unique interests and personal style. Noah is Mr. Snappy Dresser and would probably wear a tie or scarf every day if he could. He’s a great kid….like I-can’t-believe-he-is-really-mine kind of great!
And Adam is his own kind of character. He’s funny and super smart! He loves reading and writing more than anything….except eating. He really likes eating. He’s just so interesting! I love him to the moon and back! No, past that. To infinity and beyond.
We work hard give them each room to explore their own interests and style. It’s so cool to watch them become good at something new and just be themselves!
A recent online survey revealed that 94% of teens think their appearance influences their popularity. How sad!!! I want these 2 precious boys to not only KNOW that they are amazing no matter how they look, but I also want them to learn not to judge others by their looks either!
I mean, we are happy to help them have straight teeth and fun hats, but that’s not what it’s all about, man! If we can remove a barrier to feeling confident, like getting their teeth straight, we want to do it. But while they spend that time in orthodontic treatment, we also pour God’s love into their minds and hearts. We do service projects and teach them skills and let them explore their own, unique interests. For instance, Noah loves archery so we got him equipment for that. And Adam….well….I can’t keep enough books around for that kid.
Let’s work together to help our teens learn that how they look is only a small part of where their confidence should come from! It’s all about who God says you are, how you treat others, how you spread God’s love.
Thanks for stopping by and if you have any aligner questions, hop over to the Invisalign Facebook page and they’re great about answering!
Again, I am an Invisalign MAB member and one of my sons is receiving complimentary treatment. My opinions are completely my own and I only work with companies whose products I believe in. Click HERE to read the full disclosure statement.