Parenting a Troubled Teen
We try to be the best parents to our children. We want to love and respect them, be their best friend and confidant. We express all these qualities because we are hoping to develop a very good relationship especially through those challenging teenage years.
Teenagers are faced with lots of challenges. There are pressured from their peers and they think that it is time they should be making a lot more decisions on their own. They do not want to be seen as "Daddy's little girl or Mummy's boy" anymore. They are now getting attracted to the opposite sex and think there are in love.
So many things are going on in their lives. When they look into the mirror there are no longer seeing that little girl or boy looking back at them but someone with pimples and a different shaped body. This transition can be a bit too much for some and the response is not always good.
Some teenagers cannot handle the peer pressure at school and they tend to fall into traps that both parent and child will regret. Sometimes these results are a reflection of our parenting whether good or bad.
You begin to see changes in his behavior, the grades in his report card is not what you are use to and you are getting calls from the principal's office. These changes are an indication that trouble is in the air and there is a need for concern.
Some troubled teens begin to use alcohol, drugs and are lured into gangs and other criminal activities. Parents do not know where to begin to combat this behavior because for mos,t it is shocking and sometimes embarrassing.
Here are some basic tips for parenting a troubled teen:
Try to analyze the situation carefully.
Evaluate yourself and the home environment.
See if you can track when the changes in his behavior started
Communication; this will help you to understand if the problem is at home or school.
Try to encourage and let him know you are there for him no matter what the situation may be.
Seek medical help if things are not improving. (Child Psychologist)
As long as you can get to the root of the problem, parenting a troubled teen becomes easier. Parents are in shock sometimes when the problem is revealed. It might be as simple as you and him together for all these years and you are going to marry a man who he dislikes. He thinks that your new boyfriend will take away the time he enjoyed spending with you most of his life.
He does not want to share you with anyone. You need to communicate with him regularly, continue to show him all the love and affection, involve him in general conversations with you and your fiancé and probably get him to talk with him as well.
He might be looking at the situation from a different perspective. You might just think he is jealous which might me 40% true but he is also hoping that this man is not going to hurt the woman he loves and adores the most in this world.
