A stress muscle?

Ever heard of a stress muscle? Probably not, but if children do not experience some stress and learn to manage it, they learn to avoid stress as adults; their "stress muscle" doesn't fully develop into the strong muscle it needs to be to maintain a healthy sense of self-esteem and self confidence. Stress management is a necessary skill for coping. By managing stress one learns to build a sense of pride in his or her accomplishments and she/he learns that things do get better when they are bad. Having HOPE is crucial to withstanding stress. Like your arms, if you don’t work them, you cannot expect to go to the gym and lift a hundred pounds without injuring yourself.

Now, obviously we don't want the stress to be even near the level of a traumatic event, but he/she needs to learn to self soothe. If not, you are going to be very busy consoling your teens while they struggle to manage life.