When kids grow into teenagers, a lot of things begin to change. A parent’s behaviour towards them being the number one. To get along with your teenage child, you will have to constantly guide them to head towards the positive direction by being their friend.
It is important that parents develop empathy while setting boundaries. Creating a loving, supportive and friendly environment for your teenage child can help them become more open and less secretive.
Teenage is a very sensitive period and parenting a teenager is very difficult, especially in today’s time where kids are exposed to the world through technology.
Here’s your guide to dealing with your child’s teen years.
1. Be A Friend
At this very age, your teenage child is looking out for a friend in you with whom they can sit and discuss what is bothering them or about their day-to-day routine. Be patient when they sit and talk to you. Being warm, supportive, and actively listening to your child can also help them in developing friendship skills. In this way, your child will always turn to you if they face any trouble in their friendships or in school or emotionally.
Praising teenagers when you see them being fair, trusting and supportive encourages them to keep working on those positive traits, thus building a strong child-parent bond.
2. Make Them Responsible
Set expectations and in this way, they will understand and work towards what is expected out of them. This is the first step towards shaping them into a responsible child. Ensure to set your expectations reasonable, assigning them tasks that are impossible to reach will only end up frustrating them and you both.
Make a list of chores that they should work on, this is probably the most hated activity for them than being lectured, but this is how they will learn the quality of being a responsible child. Let the training begin right from their growing years.
Ensure to be more patient, understanding and supportive. Criticizing, restricting, and seizing their gadgets can only turn them into a rebellious teen.
3. Be A Good Listener
Just like adults, even teenagers want their opinions, problems and talks to be heard and respected without any criticism or taunt.
You should always be their go-to person every time they have something to talk about. Of course, you should guide them and let them know your opinions too, you can make that happen by being patient and giving them a real-life scenario and explaining to them in a rightful manner.
Let your teen child talk openly without any interruption, this will help them listen to their own speech play out loud. It also provides you with a window into their problem-solving strengths and limitations which you can use to help them.
As your child grows, keep them reminding from time to time that they are not alone and they have got your full support, and love. Keep appreciating them and their good qualities. This will only bring them closer to you, rely on you and turn to you when things go right or wrong.