Parenting teenagers can be one of the most challenging times in your life. When we think about our own childhood, teens are always the age group that seems most independent and self-sufficient. When you see them every day, it becomes clear how much they need our support and guidance. Fortunately for us, this is also when we have the best insight into what they need from us as parents. Here are some things you can do to support your teen:
Support Your Teen -Teach Them To Manage Their Emotions
The teenage years are a time of intense emotion. Your teen is going through considerable changes in their body and brain — they’re going through puberty, learning how to drive, and perhaps making plans for college. At the same time, they’re also dealing with the frustrations, fears, and worries that are a part of growing up. Some teens are naturally good at controlling their emotions — but most aren’t. If you want to help your teen with their emotions, you need to teach them some coping skills. Here are a few things you can do:
- Listen to them when they need to talk about their feelings. Be careful not to talk too much when your teen is trying to talk about their emotions.
- Help them create an emotional vocabulary. This means teaching them how to identify their emotions and giving them some words to use when they need to talk about their feelings.
- Help them deal with negative emotions. Sometimes your teen feels overwhelmed by negative emotions like sadness, anger, or anxiety. You can help your teen learn how to deal with these emotions healthily.
Help Them Develop Healthy Behaviors
There are many ways you can encourage and support your teen to develop healthy behaviours, from the basic healthy eating and exercise chats to the more complex, treating people with respect and what behaviour is appropriate in relationships, both platonic and sexual. Model good behaviour so they know what to expect and talk to them about the consequences of their actions too.
Let them know you are there for help and guidance, whether it is something like introducing workout supplements and apparel to their exercise routine safely or wanting to find a job and how best to act in an interview; they need to know how to develop healthy behaviours to manage the next stage in their life.
Be Someone Your Teen Can Turn To For Advice
Teens need to know that they can turn to you for advice and support — even when they feel too old to be “getting in trouble” with their parents. Here are a few ways you can create this relationship with your teen:
- Open up the lines of communication. If your teen is reluctant to talk to you, try to open up new ways of communication — such as texting or using an app like WhatsApp
- Set some time aside to talk to your teen. When it comes to communication, it can be hard to know how much is too much or even too little, so try to make conversations as frequent as possible and take any openings offered to you when they reach out.
Support Your Teen – Bottom Line
As your kids grow older, it’s easy for you to feel left behind. This is when you need to step up your parenting game more than ever. If you want to help your teen, you must be willing to put in the effort. Parenting is a two-way street — it’s not just about ensuring your kids have everything they need. It’s also about you being able to accept what they have to give to you. If you want to support your teen, you need to be there for them.
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