For those of us who have experienced teen years and have survived, we must be honest and say that having a teenagers is no walk in the park. As a matter of fact, Dr. Stuart Goldman, director of psychiatric education at Children’s Hospital in Boston says, “Adolescence is a time of rapid change for kids both physically and cognitively,” he explains. “It’s the task of the teenager to fire their parents and then re-hire them years later, but as consultants rather than managers.”
All Teenage parents MUST come to terms with the fact that your relationship with your teen will not be the same as it was pre-teen years. All of a sudden, you as a parent will know nothing, your word will mean nothing and friends will come to be the BEST advisors in the world. One of your teenager’s job is to have conflict with you! With that being said there are a couple of rules that MUST be put in place to navigate this time that has the ingredients of potentially becoming a challenging time.
Remember the time when your child wanted you to come along on the field trips and the class parties? Well, as teens, those times will be no more. Internally, your teen knows they need you however, they can’t seem to understand what they are feeling.
That is when you have to be the BIGGER person, and show LOVE!
Be there for your Teen.
Whenever they are ready to talk, you have to be there.
You can’t act as they do or this will make matters worse.
This type of behavior will begin getting better by 16 or 17.
You MuST be patient, and supportive!
Your teen will come to you when ready, and your job is to be there with open arms.
Whenever your teen wants to talk, you must be there with no-judgment! Challenging, but doable!
Having a teen that is mean or says bad words to you or tells you she/he hates you is another ball of wax!
Other professionals will tell you to handle this with tolerance, however, I take another approach!
You are the PARENT!
You are the ruler of your house!
You MUST be very stern in handling this behavior!
It MUST be understood that this is not acceptable in your home!!!!!
Your child can’t curse at you!
Your Child can’t scream at you!
This is unacceptable behavior and MUST be stopped!
Saying bad words in front of you is something that you can’t tolerate!
RESPECT MUST be evident at ALL times!
This means that you also have to respect your Teen!
If you need guidance in traveling the teenage world, don’t hesitate to email me, niecatlifecoaching@yahoo.com for a FREE 30 minute Parent Life Coaching session.
Happy Navigating the teen world,
Coach Arthur
Certified Professional Life Coach
http://www.niecatlifecoaching.com
NieCat - Life Coaching 