Practical Teenager Parenting Tips

Major part of problem would be solved if efforts are made to understand each other’s perspective. Here are some points a parent should do to better manage the situation with teenagers:

• The teen years bring intense growth: physically, emotionally & intellectually. With it comes confusion and upheaval for family.
• Teens are energetic, thoughtful and idealistic with a deep interest in what’s fair and right. With proper intervention parents can help kids grow into a distinct individual.
• As teens mature, they start to think more abstractly and rationally. They’re forming their moral code. Parents think when they are strongly asserting themselves and their opinions, they are rebelling against us.
• To achieve independence, teenager would start pulling away from parents. Parents feel like teens are always at odds with parents as they don’t want to be around – the way they used to.
• Compromise rather than command. Teens need to know that their voice is heard, and they are playing an active role in their lives. When it comes to punishments: work together to make them fair.
• Talk to Kids Early and Often Educate them about changes in body, strange feelings, mood swings, etc. Tell them that it’s normal to be a bit concerned or self-conscious and that it’s OK to feel grown-up one minute and like a kid the next.
• Put Yourself in Your Child’s Place and remember how you were as a teenager yourself.
• As a parent, educate yourself. Anyone who knows what’s coming can cope with it better.
• Pick Your Battles wisely. You would feel like objecting to quite a few things that they do, but that would not help you. Save your objections for things that really matter
• Set reasonable expectations from your teen. Set no expectations and he/she may feel you don’t care about him or her.
• Share your family values with your teen and talk about what you believe is right and wrong and why.
• Know your child’s friends — and know their friends’ parents. Parents can help each other keep track of the kids’ activities without making the kids feel that they’re being watched.
• Be aware of what your teen watches and reads. Don’t be afraid to set limits to encourage adequate sleep. Another important thing is that TV or the Internet should be public activities.
• Keep track of Warning Signs like, extreme weight gain or loss, sleep problems, rapid – drastic changes in personality, sudden change in friends, skipping school often, falling grades, signs of tobacco, alcohol, or drug use, run-ins with the law, etc.
• Respect privacy of your teen. To help your teen become a young adult, you’ll need to grant some privacy. In other words, your teenager’s room, texts, e-mails, and phone calls should be private.
• Tell your teen that you trust him or her, but if the trust gets broken, he or she will enjoy fewer freedoms until it’s rebuilt.
• Encourage a reasonable amount of family time together, but be flexible. Don’t be insulted when your growing child doesn’t always want to be with you and doesn’t accompany you to all social gatherings.
• Parents have to look closely at how much room you give your teen to be an individual and ask yourself questions such as: “Am I a controlling parent?,” “Do I listen to my child?,” and “Do I allow my teen’s opinions and tastes to differ from my own?”

 Always remember, your influence runs deeper than you may think. Most teens say they want to spend more time with their parents. Keep making time for your child throughout the teen years. As kids progress through the teen years, you’ll notice a slowing of the highs and lows of adolescence. And, eventually, they’ll become independent, responsible, communicative young adults. As parent do not over stress about raising a perfect child. This chase of perfection might become the biggest problem between you and the teen. Even when it doesn’t show, you provide the solid ground they know they can always come home to.

Happy Parenting!