Parenting can bring a lot of joy, but it can also have a slew of challenges, especially when your kids reach their teenage years. They can be very persistent with their decisions and, in your perspective, rebellious.
The key to success with your teen is to build strong bonds. Teenage parenting is a whole different level of parenting and requires even more patience and consistency than ever before.
If you want to learn more about how to build strong bonds with your teenager, check out the guide below to learn about teenage parenting advice that works.
Extend Your Patience
Living with your kids can stretch your patience, but with a teenager, you will need all the prayers you can get.
Parenting a teenager is vastly different from parenting a small child. Teenagers begin to gain independence and form their own views, which can be very different from yours.
As a parent, it is your responsibility to regulate your own emotions when it comes to understanding your child. They are still your child no matter what happens, and you are the adult.
You have better control of your emotions, hence why you should always extend your patience with them. Losing your cool when talking to your emotional teenager will only make matters worse.
Set Proper Expectations
Teens will always feel the need to declare their independence, and it is inevitable at some point.
This is why, as a parent, you will need to set proper expectations without totally strangling their need for independence.
Make sure that you communicate your values and what you expect from your child, especially when they are out and about without your supervision. Set rules that are related to the values and expectations that you have and acknowledge how they feel about the situation.
Lastly, always remember to set proper consequences if things ever go south with the rules that both of you have established.
Open Communication is Key
Parents can be very busy at times, especially if they have several kids in the family. This can leave the teenager feeling a bit left out.
While they may want to have the independence they crave in the world, they still need you as a parent.
Take the time to communicate with your teen after you have tucked the younger siblings to sleep or when the older siblings have gone.
A special catch-up session every day or even every other day to talk about your teenager will surely let them know that you also care for them.
Yes, They Still Need to Get Some Rest
Notice how teens like to stay up late because it is something that they weren't able to do during their childhood years?
This newfound independence can take its toll on your teen, and they end up getting less and less sleep. It is vital to their mental and physical health that you can continue to advocate for proper sleeping hours, even for your teen.
While you may not be able to tell them to go to sleep anymore, at the very least, communicate with them that they still need to have proper rest.
You can also set an electronic curfew where computers, tablets, and cell phones are turned off at a specific time of the night.
Always Be There For Your Teen
Teens are open to new things, and this can make them very susceptible to drug use and unsafe sex. While you may want to discuss these things with them, there will always come a time when they are curious about it.
Always be there for your teen; the best way to do this is to keep a close eye on them without breathing under their neck.
The few hours after school is one of the most vulnerable times for a teenager as this is the time when they get to discover and explore new things outside of their home.
Always be there for your teen, either to pick them up from school or at least to remind them to be home on time.
Do Not Push Your Teen to Be Independent, Especially If They are Not Ready
Teens will always yearn for independence, even if they know they are not yet capable of doing so.
Every teen has their own timetable, and as a parent, you should know when they begin to slowly develop a true sense of independence. Do not rush your teen to become independent overnight, even if they said they can do it.
Give them the time they need to explore what it truly feels to be independent while you oversee what they are doing.
Be a guiding light instead of forcing them to become independent immediately. This will only strain your relationship with your teen.
Dealing With a Rebel Teen
If you have a teen who continues to lie and rebel even after you've set up the consequences of their action, it is time to sit down and start talking about it.
Talk to your teen about dealing with consequences and that it is not punishment for being rebellious to you.
It is a way for your teen to understand that there is an opportunity for them to be better when they mess up, and it is called consequences. This is what all independent adults learn about the world.
They also need to understand that the consequences your teen has to experience are not meant to please you; instead, it lets you teach them what real life is all about.
Encourage Your Teen to Eat Meals With the Rest of the Family
Eating together with the rest of the family helps your teen both with their other siblings as well as with their parents.
It is the perfect opportunity to catch up and even promote healthy living and eating without getting too on the nose about it.
A teen who eats together with the family is more likely to have good grades and have less tendency to be curious about drugs and drinking than those who do not.
Your teen is also less likely to get into fights and engage in unsafe sexual activity when you can put them together with their other siblings at the dining table.
Conclusion
The teenage years are one of the most chaotic parts of parenting as it signals the transition from being a child to a young adult. Parenting teens is not easy work, and it can sometimes damage your relationship with them to the point of no return. You can prevent this from happening by getting into that fine line between giving them independence and still treating them as a child.
