You already know that setting your kids up for good skin starts as soon as they are born (with all of those great beauty products that you’d love to keep for yourself). But what about when they get older and, in spite of them doing all of the right things, acne starts to set in?
Acne is a terrible blow to any teen’s self esteem. How do you help build them up while ensuring that they don’t accidentally go overboard trying to keep their skin zit free?
1. Focus on the Positive
It’s easy to want to shout “oh no!” every time your son or daughter notices a red patch or a pimple. Doing this, though, will just reinforce the idea that acne is horrible and deserving of panic and stress. Instead, acknowledge that a pimple showing up is unfortunate but remind your kids that it won’t stick around for too long. Remind them that pimples—provided they remain unpopped—resolve themselves fairly quickly. Remind your kids about all of the other great things they have going on over which a pimple has zero power.
2. Prepare Your Kids
As your kids start to get older and you notice those first few signs of puberty setting in, ease them into a more involved skin care routine. Start buying facial cleansers and products meant for teens instead of kids. Your kids will get a kick out of finally being old enough to use “real” skin stuff and you’ll teach them healthy habits. Using coupon codes for DermStore.com can help ease the cost of this.
This is the time when you need to start reinforcing the “keep your hands off your face” rule. If you need to, start introducing new hobbies that will help keep your kids’ hands busy so they won’t be able to pick or scratch at the bumps.
3. Go to the Dermatologist Early
Teach your kids the value of seeing a dermatologist early. Take them in for a check-up when puberty starts to set in before acne becomes a problem. This does a couple of things: you’ll give your kids another adult who can tell them about how acne works (because, face it, teens think their parents are clueless). It also takes away the stigma of seeing a dermatologist after acne has appeared. If you wait for the acne to get bad, taking your child to a dermatologist just makes the situation more stressful. You might even be able to wrangle some DermStore.com coupons out of her!
4. Knowledge is Power
Kids feel better when they understand what is going on. It is the uncertainty that causes teens to feel so stressed out when their bodies start to change. Talk about the changes that are going to happen to the skin. Teach your kids how acne works—how the bacteria and other debris clogs pores and how the inflammation starts. Knowing how it’s happening is just as important as knowing why it is happening and will help your kids feel calmer then their acne flares up.
The simple fact is that you can’t force your kids to be okay with acne. All you can do is prepare them for it. Give them the knowledge and the tools they need to fight it. Then, when acne happens anyway (which is what happens during adolescence), remind your kids how awesome they are and how much you love them. Build them up so the acne won’t tear them down.
And remember: you’ll all get through it!
