Everyone always warns parents that teenagers are a handful. They tell you to enjoy the worries of your toddlers because teenagers bring a whole host of new problems that you wouldn’t have anticipated. In a way, people are right: teenagers are awkward. However, they’re difficult because when you only have toddlers, you don’t know how to manage or connect with a teenager. We were all teenagers once; we know how hard it feels to have people not listen when you are ABSOLUTELY SURE that you know best. You know how it can feel when the world is against you – it’s not, but it sure feels that way – and no one will listen.
However, this is something that gives you a unique insight in how to deal with your own teenagers and keep them on the right path. How you communicate and connect with your children as they grow matters and defines the relationship that you’ll have with them when they are teenagers. There are so many ways for it all to go wrong with teenagers, from them letting go of their education to hanging in with the wrong people. Either way, we’ve got some tips to help you to guide your teenagers down the right path instead of losing them on the wrong one.
The Wrong Crowd
The rebels always look more tempting for your teenagers than the kids who are doing well. The ones who are breaking the rules are standing up in a way your teenager doesn’t, which is why it’s so easy for them to break the rules themselves and follow the wrong people. This can lead to drinking underage, taking drugs, and going down a road you don’t want them to head down. It’s, for this reason, it’s so important to talk to them about the risks of drugs and drink, about partial hospitalization program (PHP) and addiction in the general sense. Communication can prevent so many things from happening, but communication isn’t lectures. It’s talking on their level, and it’s getting them knowledgeable about social pressures.
School
Every teenager thinks that they know everything, even though they don’t. Don’t tell yours they’re stupid, or that they don’t know things. Instead, tell them that you appreciate that they know everything, but there is always more to know that will get them further in life and in their career. Take them to the place they want to work one day, whether that’s a hospital or a vet surgery or even the nearest McDonald’s. Let them see what their education can do for them, and remind them that high school only happens once – they need to make the most of it.
Teenagers sure don’t know it all, but neither do you. You need to learn together to walk through puberty and come out the other side unscathed and unharmed. Take time to get to know your teenager and don’t mourn the child they once were: celebrate the adult they’re becoming.
