Originally published: March 2025
There are lots of ways to encourage teens to be active. Encouraging protective gear, like helmets, is important to make sure teens are protected from concussions. When it comes to concussions, your immediate attention is needed to help your teen heal. Whether it’s from playing a sport or from a fall or collision, it’s important for parents to know the signs and symptoms of a concussion and how to prevent them.
What is a concussion?
A concussion is a brain injury that can range from mild to severe. A concussion can result from any blow/hit to the face, head, neck or body where a person’s head gets jarred. This could be from playing contact sports, like cheerleading, hockey or soccer. Concussions can also happen from things like car or bike collisions.
Since concussions directly affect the brain, they can lead to a wide range of symptoms that impact many different parts of a teen’s life. For teenagers, concussion symptoms may not show up right away and can develop over a few hours or days. Symptoms can include:
- Having a hard time focusing
- Problems sleeping or changes in sleep patterns
- Anxiety
- Sadness or depression
- Headaches and dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Trouble talking and walking
- Not remembering the injury, or events before or after
If your teen shows any of these symptoms, they should immediately stop their activity. Even if you’re not sure if it’s a concussion, when in doubt, sit it out. Even in suspected cases of a concussion or head injury, see a health care professional. If a health care professional has said the concussion is moderate or severe, be sure to follow their advice for healing.
Preventing concussions
Here are some ways to help your teen reduce the risk of concussions and create healthy habits:
- Always ensure teens wear a proper fitting helmet in activities that have a high risk of falls, such as bike rides, wheeled activities and contact sports.
- Always wear seatbelts in motor vehicles. Until they are officially a “teen” (13 years old), your child is safest in the back seat.
- Review the safety rules with your teen’s coach to ensure they have appropriate protocols for head injuries.
- Encourage your teen to always tell you, their coaches and teachers about a head injury. Immediate action may be needed in the case of a brain injury.
How to support your teen during a concussion
Concussion recovery can be slow and frustrating for teens and caregivers. Below are a few suggestions on how to help you and your teen manage concussion healing together.
- Create a plan around your teen’s recovery time frame. It may take weeks to recover from a concussion. A gradual return to school and sports might be necessary too, depending on how bad the concussion is. Knowing the timeline will help your teen gradually return to activities at their own pace. See the recommendations here: Concussions and head injuries in children: Returning to school and sport.
- Encourage social connections with family and friends. Concussions don’t mean teens should be isolated. Instead, having non-tiring social connections can help them feel like themselves again. Start by having short visits and as symptoms improve, they can increase in length and frequency.
- Monitor your teen for changes to their mood or behavior. This can include mood shifts, changes in eating and sleeping habits, not taking care of themselves, or losing interest in their favorite activities. If you notice any of the changes above, seek medical attention and follow your doctor’s advice.
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