Best Ways To Parent The Teenage Child

One of the most challenging aspects of being a parent is going throught the teen years. Your teens newly found lives and ideas probably conflict in ways with your own. It is often to know how to communicate with your teen especially when you have to lay down the law. If this is your goal, read on for tips to effectively deal with unruly teens.

A major thing you as a parent must remember is that not every behavior is abnormal in the teen years. You aren't the only one having to deal with changes, these teens are dealing with physical and emotional changes within themselves. Teens often struggle with wanting to be independent but feeling dependent upon their parents. This can cause some acting out that may mimic bipolar behaviors from one moment to the next. As a teenager between childhood and adulthood the brain is not yet fully developed just yet. It is important that you realize this because it doesn't matter what your approach is you can not expect that your teenager will be the model of stability and rational thinking because they simply aren't able to. Your best approach will be to let them take the reigns and learn as they go without taking it too personally. Set a good example for your teenagers. Parents often do not practice what they preach. If you are drinking, smoking or getting high and trying to tell your teens not to, you can bet they will do it anyway. Just like when parents swear at home around their teens it's most likely the teens will swear as well even if they are encouraged not to. So set the example you want them to follow.

Make sure to spend quality time with them. This is not always easy, for several different reasons. For one thing, you are probably quite busy, and your teenager may be more interested in being with friends or playing computer games. Make a date with them to talk or just hang out. You must know this is natural for them to pull away but it's imperative that you show you care about them too and that you are still here for guidance and assurance. When you don't make the effort to spend time with them you are at risk of having them block you out and it's difficult to get past that block once it's been put into place. So parenting teenagers requires that you make time for them in your schedule.

Keep in mind, no one is perfect when it comes to parenting teenagers. You have to accept that, like anything else in life, being a parent has its difficult points. An imperative thing is to always let your teenager know that you are there for him or her. If you do this, and keep the above recommendations in mind, you will find that parenting teenagers is something you can do, even if it's not always easy.

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