How to Avoid Raising Disrespectful Teens

We all know that parenting is no easy task and certainly isn’t for cowards. Great parenting takes a lot of diligence. We need to know where our children are and monitor what they are doing. This can be extremely difficult in the days of single parents and working mothers. But if I could make one suggestion that will benefit your child through adulthood it would be to monitor what they watch on TV. This one action will help you through their teen years. I’ve watched in horror over the last 20 years as television shows have turned to making the parents the comical buffoons and the teens mocking them all the way. While it may make for entertaining viewing, it certainly isn’t harmless. Allowing the child that you are parenting to watch shows where teens are rebellious or disrespectful to their parents is quite literally training this behavior into your future. If you don’t want to someday be face to face with the hooligan you once thought was funny, now standing in your living room, stop the training now!
Your magic key word here will be “Never-the-less.” Every time your son our daughter says, “But all the kids at school watch that show!” You will say, “Never-the-less, our family isn’t going to watch it.” “Never-the-less, you aren’t going to watch it…” Let “Never-the-less” become your mantra, it will make you stronger. Use it as a firm but loving boundary that will protect the future of your family as you navigate the rough tides of the teenage years.