Mark Gregston MA, LCCA

The more you encourage your teenager to think for himself, the more he will care  what you think.

A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after  success.

Tell your teens daily,'There’s nothing you can ever do to make me love you less, and  nothing you cando to make me love you more.'

The greatest gift you have to give your teenager is you.

When you talk to your teen, do so with your eyes and your ears.

Always give in to the urge to hug your teen.

Setting boundaries is good for teenagers. They'll complain, but what they'll feel is  security and relief.

You'll never be an`Absolutely Perfect Parent' to your teen. Be a `Good Enough  Parent'.

Ask your teen what she likes most to do with you, then do it more often.

Say 'I'm sorry' toyour teen when you're wrong. It teaches them to do the same.

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Say “I love you” to your teen whenever you feel it, even if it’s 100 times a day. You  simply cannot spoil a teen with too much.

"Your teenager will do as you do, not as you say. So set a good example.

Catch your teen doing things right.

Be loving to your teen, even when you don't feel loving.

Some time each day, give your teen your undivided attention.

Ask for your teen's opinion more often.

When your teen feels overwhelmed, teach them to focus on one thing at a time.

Tell your teenagers,`I love you just the way you are'.

Give your teenagers opportunities to make real contributions to the family.

Don't compare your teenager to others. Value them each for their own gifts.

Every responsibility you assume for your teen is one less responsibility he will have to  accept andlearn from.

Don’t increase your child’s anger and stubbornness by fighting. Heated arguments  easily lead away from the intended message.

Ignoring bad behavior in your teen today only means that you’re going to have to  deal with a bigger problem later.

God uses people in your life, and just as iron sharpens iron, He could be using your  teen tosharpen you.

How parents fare in the struggle is a far better measure of good parenting than  whether the family struggles at all.

To think that you can actually change your teen is foolishness. Teens must make a  decision to change and then follow through.

I’ve truly never met a bad kid. Have you?

If you’re a parent who sees something happening within your family that you know is  wrong, today isthe day to expose it.

God calls us to love our children in the midst of their sin so that someone is there to  speak thetruth to them.

I often see parents who raise their kids to live in the safety of a zoo rather than  preparing themto survive in a jungle.

Whenever the boat(your home) is tossing and turning on a sea of confusion and  struggle, yourkids need to know what they can hold on to.

Learning to make good and wise choices at an early age will empower children to  make good choices when they become teens.

Teens need to become independent. The rub lies in the fact that teens want their  freedom tooquickly, and parents are often hesitant.

If you believe that a teen should be able to make choices, then you should be  prepared for them to make some poor ones.

Let your teenagers regularly ‘overhear' you praising them, never ‘overhear’ you  cutting them down.

Talk to your teen about the lessons to be learned from other people's mistakes.

Much teenage rebellion comes from treating them like they're 10 when they're 15.

Abnormal behavior usually begins with an abnormal circumstance. Find out what it is 

and you'll understand their behavior.

Kids sometimes temporarily abandon the values they have been taught in order to  again findthem for their own.

Fess up when you blow it. This is the best way to show your teen how and when  they should apologize.

Nobody said it would be easy to be a parent. If you are having an easy time of it,  something could be wrong.

Tell your teen that there is nothing they can do to make you love them more, and   nothing they can do to make you love them less.

When you quit talking so much, you give your teen an opportunity to speak.

With teens, don't share your opinion unless asked....it keeps them thinking.

Quit doing everything for your teenagers....it keeps them from developing  responsibility and self-reliance.

Help your teenager by allowing him to help himself.

Create a home where your teen finds rest....not more ridicule and challenge.

Shift your parenting style from 'providing' your teen with everything, to 'preparing'  your teen forthe next step in life.

If you are sarcastic with your child, then your child is likely to be sarcastic with you.

Until the pain of your teen's bad behavior is greater than their sense of pleasure in  what they’redoing, they won’t change.

Self-control is not being controlled by the things that have happened in your life.

You can be performance-oriented without having a performance-based relationship  with your teen.

Immaturity demands boundaries...rebellion demands consequences.

Immaturity should not be confused with defiance.

Grace is getting something you don’t deserve, while mercy is not getting something  you dodeserve.

When your teen acts up, it may be because they've had things happen that you  might not know about. So find out first.

Sometimes the reason our teenagers are having problems is to teach us something,  not the other way around.

Lack of limits has the tendency to produce a child that is selfish,  independent, demanding andaggressively controlling.

What your child wants more than anything else is relationship.