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You're listening to LifeKit from NPR.

Hey everybody, it's Mariel.

I remember my first day of, I think it was sixth grade.

I showed up in this cute outfit that I had loved the day before.

If I remember right, there was a plaid skirt and a maroon cardigan.

I was stylish, but then I got to school and all the girls

were wearing gym shorts and athletic sneakers. And I was like, what did I miss the memo? Like,

I suddenly felt so self-conscious about my clothes, like a total outsider. Not a good way to start my

middle school journey. And I think I'm not

alone here, right? Back to school time can be exciting for sure. All those fresh notebooks and

dreams of possibility. This is my year. I'm going to try out for the play or make the soccer team

or finally talk to that boy. but it's also hard on kids.

You know, it's always been hard to be a teenager and it's always been hard to raise a teenager.

That's Lisa DeMore.

I'm a psychologist who cares for teenagers and the adults around them.

I'm the author of three books on raising adolescents, and I had the honor of working with the Walton Family Foundation

and Gallup on a poll about the emotional lives of teenagers and their parents. Just to note here,

the Walton Family Foundation is an NPR funder. And that poll was a part of the 2024 Voices of

Gen Z study. They talked to thousands of 10 to 18-year-olds and one of their parents or guardians about the emotional lives of preteens and teens. Turns out, no surprise here, they are complex.

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