Raising a teenager can be one of the scariest experiences for any parent. All of a sudden you have this being that is a part of you out in the world and they can cause a lot of joy or havoc. For most parents, they love it when their teenager is succeeding or doing well with certain aspects of their life. But what about when things are not going well?
One of the biggest mistakes parents make when they are raising a teenager is that they lose their composure and forget about the commitment they made towards unconditional love with their child. The next time your teen is acting “not so great”, try to keep these things in mind:
1. Your teen is exploring themselves and the world. This Earthly experience is still pretty new and “alien” to them and they need to figure things out. They need space and they need you to be calm and patient while they are going through some trial and error. This is in no way saying they can just do whatever they want. it just means that while they are stumbling around, to be patient and be playful with them. Don’t add negative judgment to their experience otherwise they will feel guilty or that they are doing something wrong and this will create distance between you two because he or she will feel that their “mistakes” are bad instead of something natural and then they won’t want to share these experiences with you. Then you will wonder why they don’t come to you.
2. Encourage your teen to be true to themselves instead if what you want them to do. You want your teen to discover their authentic self as soon as possible so they can become self-reliant and self-responsible. This way you don’t have a young adult still sitting in your house figuring out what they should do or scared to enter the world because they are afraid of making a mistake!
Raising a teenager can be a fun and exciting if you approach it in this way. But if you approach it as a chore or “draining you”, your teen will pick up on this and they wont want to share their challenges with you which is what the teen years is all about, challenges. So the next time you are facing some challenges with your teen, just remember this is what you signed up for as a parent and to have fun!