To stay connected to themselves and others, tweens and teens need healthy habits that build self-awareness, authenticity and empathy. Lucero makes these habits easy with a gamified, bite-sized approach and radical support for tweens, teens and the adults who care for them. Here’s how we do it:

1. Lucero supports self-awareness. Tweens’ and teens’ self-concept is rooted in the strength of their relationships with others. Positive relationships give them self-confidence, and self-confidence boosts their capacity to connect with others. In other words, to connect with others, teens need to connect with themselves, too. Here are a few of the ways Lucero supports self-awareness:

• Lucero takes tweens and teens on an adventure of self-discovery that renews with new challenges each day. As they make their way through Journey, teens learn emotional literacy, explore self-regulation, and build self-confidence. And every discovery is logged, so teens can reflect on how they have grown.
• Lucero checks in with teens’ moods, then provides a toolkit of over 600 self-care habits for every emotion. Each time they spin the wheel in Spark, they take care of their minds, bodies and hearts.

2. Lucero makes authenticity accessible. To feel good about themselves, teens need to know that their whole self is accepted, including all their quirks, challenges, and imperfections. Here’s how Lucero makes authenticity accessible:

• Teens get a daily dose of self-celebration in Sanctuary. It’s a place where they can express themselves by evolving their Avatars, tracking their progress and earning Badges.
• Teens can choose personal quests like “Be kinder to myself” in Missions. They complete their mission with fun, personalized support that’s all about developing healthy habits and achieving goals one step at a time.
• Teens can share their self-discovery with up to seven “framily” members who make up their Crew… that’s anyone who radically supports them in being the most authentic version of themselves!

3. Lucero evolves empathy. The teen years are prime time for developing empathy. Studies show that adolescents score significantly lower than adults in measurements of both cognitive and affective empathy. That’s because the teenage brain is still developing, and empathy is a learned skill. Here’s how Lucero evolves empathy:

• Friends and family members can join teens on their self-care journey to cheer each other on and support each other. Staying connected to their Crew reminds teens that they’re part of a network of care.
• Lucero encourages teens to share what they discover about themselves with their Crew. That sparks curiosity and conversations, helps them see things from other perspectives and deepens their concern for others.

4. Lucero checks in consistently. Lucero is backed by leading-edge research that says the key to developing healthy habits like connection is keeping it simple and providing repetition and reward. To keep teens connected, Lucero checks in consistently with ways to share, reach out to others, and strengthen their support system. Every activity is co-created by youth and backed by licensed therapists. It’s fun, engaging, and consistent, helping tweens, teens and their caregivers cultivate connections that protect their mental health and lead to lifelong well-being.

You could say that to be confident is to trust yourself. Confidence gives teens faith in their own abilities and a secure sense of self-reliance. It’s the cornerstone quality that helps them navigate the changes of adolescence, make good choices and thrive in a rapidly-changing world.

Why Confidence is Key

Teens who lack confidence miss out on critical growth opportunities because they are less likely to take risks, join in activities and speak up for themselves. They may expect to fail or become overly perfectionistic. They’re also more susceptible to depression, anxiety, substance-use, self-harm and being negatively influenced by peers.

High levels of confidence, in contrast, are proven to protect teens’ mental health. Confident teens are more emotionally resilient, optimistic, persistent and self-compassionate. They have more social support and lower levels of common mental health problems like depression and anxiety. And confident teens are more likely to get the most out of opportunities for growth and self-discovery, like challenging classes and team sports. In short, teens who lack confidence struggle, and teens who have confidence thrive.

The Perfect Storm

Adolescence challenges kids’ confidence in multiple, intersecting ways. In the span of a few years, teens undergo seismic shifts in their bodies, brain chemistry, and emotional and social landscapes. In the midst of all that change, they are tasked with crafting their identities and taking on new levels of independence and responsibility. And because they\’re neurologically wired to seek belonging with peers, the opinions of others suddenly matter much more.

These rapid-fire changes test even the most well-adjusted teens. In a study of 1,300 tween and teen girls, authors Claire Shipman, Katty Kay, and JillEllyn Riley discovered that, between the ages of 8 and 14, confidence levels dropped by 30%. “The change can be baffling to many parents,” they write in The Atlantic. “Their young girls are masters of the universe, full of gutsy fire. But as puberty sets in, their confidence nose-dives, and those same daughters can transform into unrecognizably timid, cautious, risk-averse versions of their former self.”

Why You Need a Proactive Plan

Because of the multiple factors that can damage teens’ confidence, it\’s not enough to leave it up to chance. Teens need a proactive plan to gain tools, strategies and habits that build their confidence and keep it high. Here are three things parents can do to put a solid plan in place:

1. Keep communicating.

Confident teens know their parents and caregivers are on their team, and they feel comfortable communicating about what matters most to them and any challenges they’re going through. It’s natural, though, for teens to become more guarded and private during adolescence. To keep the lines of communication open, stay curious about your teen’s interests. That’s where they feel most confident and, when they know you care about what’s important to them, they’ll see you as an ally in other areas, too.

1. Support them in getting out of their comfort zone.

Taking on a challenge can be scary at any age, but it’s one of the best ways to build confidence. Author Alex Malley says, “Take a risk and take action despite your fear of failure, messing up or embarrassment. If things work out, then you now know you can do more than you think. If things don’t work out, you now know that you can handle more than you think. Either way, you’re better off.” Help your teen explore the world around them and get comfortable taking positive risks. When you know they really want to try something new, be their cheerleader.

1. Build healthy habits.

Teens need daily practice to keep their confidence high. Healthy habits like positive self-talk, mindfulness and self-care are essential tools to protect teens’ confidence and boost their self-awareness. Our gamified wellness app, Lucero, was designed with teen confidence in mind; in fact, it’s a key topic in World 1. It’s a fun, no-pressure way for teens to get daily inspiration and encouragement and build healthy habits.

Why Emotional Regulation is Key

Emotional regulation is the ability to effectively manage emotions. It includes:

• Being able to self-reflect
• Feel emotions without being overwhelmed by them
• Dial down the intensity of negative feelings
• Cultivate positive feelings, and
• Feel in control of emotional experiences.

According to a brief from the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, teens with good emotional regulation skills are better at:

• dealing with stress and frustration,
• persisting, problem-solving and delaying gratification to achieve goals,
• demonstrating compassion and concern for others in their decisions, and
• seeking help when they’re overwhelmed by stress or in a dangerous situation.

Research also suggests that emotional regulation protects teens’ long-term mental health. A 2019 study published in Brain Science found that emotional regulation skills mediate the effects of stressful life events and childhood adversity on teens’ risk for anxiety disorders and depression.

The bottom line? Emotional regulation helps teens build emotional resilience. But, because there are so many biological, neurological and social factors affecting teens’ emotions, it’s important to put a plan in place to help them gain tools. Here are three strategies to focus on:

1. Practice self-awareness.

The first step in regulating emotions is being able to “name and claim” them. Teens need to know it’s ok to feel their feelings – even the uncomfortable ones. Teach your teen that emotions are information. While emotions can help teens take care of themselves and make good decisions, they\’re not permanent or reflective of who they are as individuals. Self-awareness also means identifying what triggers negative emotions and nurtures positive ones, and taking responsibility for practicing emotional self-care.

1. Reframe negative thoughts and self-talk.

Emotions are closely linked to thoughts and self-talk; for example, a thought like “Everybody else thought that class was easy, but I didn’t understand anything. I’m so dumb,” can lead to feelings of shame, anxiety and fear. Reframing teaches teens to notice their negative, self-defeating thoughts and self-talk and switch to a more positive, self-compassionate and empowering perspective: “I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s struggling. I know I can get this. I’ll ask my teacher for help tomorrow.”

1. Future-focusing.

Future-focusing teaches teens to imagine future stressful scenarios, like bumping into an ex at school or taking a big test, and map out strategies to help themselves stay calm. They can walk through a challenging situation in their minds, decide what tools they will use and picture a successful outcome. Future-focusing can also mean planning a reward for completing a tough task, like taking 10 minutes of downtime for every hour of studying. Focusing on the future empowers teens to handle stressors proactively and positively.

And here’s a fun Spark tool from the Lucero app: 

Spark has over 600 self-care ideas for 30 different emotions! One of our favorites: When your teen is dealing with a tough emotion, ask “What would you say to someone else who felt _____?” How would you help them feel better?” This simple Q&A helps teens build a toolkit of proactive solutions, and sometimes it’s easier to handle a difficult emotion when we imagine it from a different perspective.

The upshot? Brain science has evolved fast in the past few decades. Researchers now know a lot about what’s going on inside the brains of teenagers, but you don’t have to be a neuroscientist to understand the basics. Here are five facts about the teenage brain that all parents should keep in mind:

The teenage brain is still developing. One of the last regions of the brain to mature is the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for reasoning, planning, prioritizing, and impulse control. The brain isn’t fully developed until about age 25, so when teenagers demonstrate risky behavior or poor judgment, it’s not a failure on their parents’ part. Teens really are less capable of thinking through the consequences of their actions and planning for outcomes. Each time teens learn from a mistake; they strengthen their reasoning skills. And when parents help teens map out a plan, consider possible results, and make a decision, it lays the neural foundation for a lifetime of good judgment.

The teenage brain is more emotional. What causes teen drama and mood swings? Because their frontal brains are still developing, teens rely more on the limbic brain to make decisions. The limbic brain, especially the amygdala, is associated with emotions, impulses, and the fight-or-flight stress response. Psychologist Marwa Azab says, “During the teen years, it helps to think of the amygdala as the ‘gossiper.’ It loves to spread bad news and rumors… So, a teen might end up misperceiving a benign ‘hello’ as ‘I am watching you’ or ‘I noticed that pimple.’\” Until the prefrontal cortex develops to help them keep fears and impulses in check, teens are more likely to experience intense emotions–especially in response to stress.

The teenage brain is packed with potential. Around puberty, teens experience a big boost in neuroplasticity. Their brains are rapidly changing in response to their environment, and all that plasticity means potential. Research shows that brain processing and memory-forming power peak at age 18. Challenging, stimulating experiences make a lasting impression on the teenage brain, so it\’s the perfect time to learn or perfect language, music, academic, and athletic skills. Teens are also primed to benefit from experiences that expand the way they see the world and their place in it, like travel, volunteering, after-school jobs, and summer internships. But Psychologist Laurence Steinberg says it’s important to remember that “puberty makes the brain more sensitive to all sorts of environmental influences, both good and bad,” so parents still have a major role to play in protecting their teens from negative influences.

The teenage brain is more vulnerable to stress. Adolescence is one of life’s biggest transitions, bringing neurological, physical, social, and emotional changes. This makes teens more vulnerable to stress and mental health problems. Many mental health disorders—including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and self-harm—are more likely to emerge during the teenage years. And according to the CDC, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the mental health of teens to take a dramatic downturn. Parents can help by sharing strategies for stress reduction, like mindfulness, deep breathing, and talking openly about hard things. Long-term healthy habits, like managing social media time and getting enough sleep and exercise, also help teens keep stress in check.

The teenage brain is incredibly resilient. You–and your teen–may need a reminder from time to time, but they are strong, capable, and adaptable. As their brains are developing, teens are learning skills to regulate their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Every experience is creating new neural connections that build their brain’s capacity to handle life’s challenges. Strategies for self-regulation, social and emotional well-being, and growth mindset can have a profoundly positive impact on teens by helping them develop positive outlooks and habits. And while mistakes are inevitable, teens are perfectly poised to learn from their errors and bounce back.

Frances Jensen tells her readers that, despite the bad hair dye and countless other mishaps, she and her son made it through his teen years just fine. “Yes, you can survive your teenagers’ adolescence,” she says. “And so can they. And you will have a lot of stories to tell after it’s all over.”

Lucero is developing a gamified app to help teens begin their adventure to self-discovery. Sign up here to get early access to this innovative youth-driven, spirit-infused technology.