10 Tips For Parents With Teens

Growing up with teens doesn't have to be a dreaded thing. We have our ups and downs like most parent/kid relationships, but what an adventure. The hairbrush and hairspray start disappearing, the mascara is nowhere to be found, your best pair of pantyhose gets a mysterious run in it, dad's favorite sweatshirt is missing and they can never remember to tell you important things.

Here are some things you should do, and things you must learned to.
1. Communicate. Have a ready, available listening ear whenever they need it. Let them unload on you.
2. Love them and accept them for what they are unconditionally.
3. Get involved. Enjoy what they enjoy. Get to know their friends. Chaperone activities. It makes them feel important to you.
4. Don't yell or scream at them. Talk it out. Don't lose your cool if you can help it. Treat them as an adult.
5. Be consistent with your rules and standards. Nothing will cause a young person to go bad quicker than inconsistency in training.
6. Be an example of right. Walk speaks louder than talk.
7. Don't belittle them in front of others. They have enough to overcome with peer pressure without mom or dad adding to it.
8. Keep them involved in activities that promote a healthy spiritual consciousness. Take them to teenage soul winning, church-related activities, revivals and camps. Let them help run bus routes and do things that foster an interest in others.
9. When they fail, believe in them. Forgive them. Help them to go on anyway.
10. Don't criticize them. This is an emotional time. If you must correct a problem, try to do it privately and positively. Feeling like they can never measure up or be what you expect them to be is the leading cause of teen suicide.

Love them. Unselfish actions, sincere concern, communication, and lots of prayer, seem to be the key ingredients to keeping a parent/teen relationship sweet. These days are important ones, challenging ones, but ones that can be the most blessed if we look for ways to simply meet the needs of those who need us most.




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