Tips To Raise Teenagers

Teenagers are no longer children and would project an image that they are grown up, so do not despair if your son answers you in monosyllables like ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or your charming daughter no longer wants to go out with you; this emotional separation allows them to turn out into well adjusted adults. Following a few important tips would help raise teenagers and develop good relationships with them.

Here are 10 valuable tips to raise teenagers: 

1) Parents need to give their teenagers some leeway to establish his/her identity; the additional independence is essential to help them establish their position on the earth. However it is wrong to give this independence when the teenager is in bad company; parents need to instruct their teenager when they take to drinking, smoking and drugs and instruct them on right peer group.

2) It is necessary for parents to discuss and set in advance rules and discipline regarding a teenager and follow it uniformly, whether it is ban of driving for one week, cutting back on their allowance or internet use. If your teenager feels it is not fair, it is best to talk it over and decide what fair punishment is.

3) It is best for parents of teenagers to distinguish between permanent changes like a tattoo that matters and a purple hair or messy room that does not matter much and act accordingly.

4) Parents need to give their teenagers age-appropriate autonomy if they behave appropriately. It forms a part of responsible parenting to know where they are late in the day. You could as a parent require your teenager to call late in the evening to check up; this also depends on how responsible your teen is.  

5) Parents are the best people who can talk to teens about risks connected with drugs, driving and premarital sex and how to avoid them to prevent the worse from happening.

6) It would be best to invite your teenager’s friends to dinner; this not only gives you a chance to know more about the your teenagers friends, but also gives the teenager a chance to see how they behave with their parents.

7) Parents need to keep the doors of communication open for the teenager; you could talk about tidbits of your day and also ask them questions about theirs. If they do not seem interested, you could make it very clear that they could share anything later when they like to.  

8) Give teens a game plan; if they have to come back home at an unpleasant hour, ask them to call you and not engage a drunk driver. Make sure they have the cab fare. Brainstorm with them how to handle unsafe situations and how to come up with a solution that feels comfortable for that child.

9) Be a role model for your teenager by being a model in your actions and words; this is critical in helping teens adopt good moral and ethical standards. Being a role model early in life would make them less likely to make bad decisions in their rebellious teen years.

10) Let your teenager feel guilty; it is healthy to feel good about oneself, but it is equally right to feel bad when your teenager hurts someone or does something wrong.  

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