If you are the parent of a teenager, you may well be always looking for advice on parenting teens. After all, it’s a completely different game than it was “in the past” or even a couple of years ago, right? When “we” were teenagers, it was a completely different world, right? Our parents told us what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, and we did it exactly as they told us to do. We knew the result would be completely unpleasant and not soon to be forgotten.
However, today, teenagers are an entirely new breed. Their disrespect is unmatched, they don’t listen to a word we say, they live a life with no rules, and they’re just out of control overall. It’s no wonder so many parents seek advice on parenting teens. People are desperate to find a way to take control of their families and get back on track with their teenage son. The good news is that it can be done, as long as you are willing to put a little effort into it. Let’s take a quick look at how things got as “bad” as they are, for a minute.
The Law – Now, I’m not saying you agree to “spank” or use the threat of physical violence against your teen to make him listen, but let’s face the facts for a minute. On the “day”, even the thought of your dad coming home from work and finding out that you were misbehaving was enough for you to follow the rules, right? These days, teenagers fear nothing. They know that they cannot be hit, physically restrained or anything like that. If you do, they will most likely call the police. You may be laughing a bit at that statement, but the kids have done it recently. The sad thing is that, in some cases, parents were arrested and charged with spanking their child.
Society: The way society is right now has taught our children, especially our teens, that it is okay to act a certain way. It’s okay for them to drink, smoke, steal, do drugs, and any number of things that we, as parents, don’t consider acceptable. After all, what will happen if they do any of those things?
Relationships – At some point, the relationships parents had with teens went from being parents and children to “friends.” The evidence of this is all around us. In a tattoo parlor somewhere RIGHT NOW there is a parent with their 16 year old son or daughter getting matching ink. At some party somewhere, right now there’s a dad walking through the front door with a case of beer for all the teens, so everyone thinks the dad is “cool.”
The sad reality of the matter is that even if you are not a parent who is raising your child poorly, it is more than likely that your teenager is exposed to those parents, or at least the children of those parents. So your teen will most likely find some of the examples I’ve given above acceptable and, to some extent, how things should be. Because of this, responsible parents, like you and me, need some good parenting advice to get teens back on track. don’t make the mistake that things will get better on their own. Find, find, and follow some solid teen parenting tips to make sure your teen is on the right track.