Parenting Questions

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Parenting Classes offered by pricelessparenting.com. Parenting class, parenting skills, parenting teenagers, parenting advice, parenting child, parenting children, family parenting, Kathy slattengren

Living with a teenager can be hard work. Your once angelic and cute little child is now grown up, moody and distant. All teenagers go through a phase of rebelling against their parents and it can often be difficult to communicate and parent them. So just how do you parent a teenager?

How to Deal with Problem Behavior

There will come a time in every teen’s life where they will start to display problem behavior. Dealing with it correctly is essential if you want to tackle the behavior in a positive way. But just how do you discipline a teenager without them rebelling against you?

The first thing that you need to remember is that trying to control your teen will not work. It may work on younger children but it will only make your teen rebel and fight back against that control. They are just starting to become more independent and they are developing their own ideas and feelings about the world around them. Therefore the key to preventing problem behavior is not to tell them that they are forbidden to do something or that you are the parent and they are the child. Instead treat them as you would an adult. Talk to them and try to see why they are acting like they are. Often, a little bit of understanding can make a huge difference.

Why Communication is the Key

One thing that always helps when trying to parent teenagers is communication. It can be so tempting to just shout and order your child around. After all, it’s what you have been used to for so long. However, ask most teenagers why they feel so isolated and why they act out, a lot of the time they say it is because they feel misunderstood.

Imagine if you were never listened to or if your ideas were never respected. Imagine not having anybody to talk to about what is on your mind without the fear of being reprimanded. It can be a very lonely world for a teenager so the key to good parenting is listening to them and talking to them to see if everything is ok.

Of course it is all well and good listening to them, but you also need to be able to handle the situation well too. Try and see things from your teenager’s point of view. This doesn’t mean that you have to go easy on them all the time. However, the best way to handle problem behavior is to explain why it was wrong, ask them why they did it and explain to them why you have to punish them.

At the end of the day you can read as many articles and books on parenting a teenager, but there are still things that you will find extremely challenging. Patience, understanding and good communication are the best skills that you can use to help you to reach out to your teenager in this day and age.

By: Mario Mauro

About the Author:

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are
by Alex Harris, Brett Harris
Amazon Price: $8.76

Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfr...
by Rosalind Wiseman
Amazon Price: $10.20
Customer Review: Rosalind Wiseman is a wealth of helpful information. I love her approach - it's more than being nice, it's about social competence. She takes a serious, tough topic and belts out practical tips you can really use to help your children deal with the ...

Parenting Teens With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition)
by Foster Cline, Jim Fay
Amazon Price: $16.49
Customer Review: Love and Logic made a dramatic difference in our family relationships. Parenting a difficult 13 year old was creating stress and strife in our family. The principles of Love and Logic (and especially applied to teen situations in this book) were co...

JosephGandolfo asked:

Joe was featured as a teen life and parenting expert on the “Mornings with Lorri and Larry” show.

QuestionMark asked:


That are sneaking a round behind their parents backs. I mean I see so many questions from teens asking questions about things that they should be asking their parents. Or asking about how to keep stuff from their parents.
whey aren’t they talking to their parents?
teens: why aren’t you talking to your parents?
and why are they trying so hard to keep things from them?
kids: same question?

sailormoonfan1 asked:


I’m not speaking as a person who wants to smoke or anything but i’m just wondering–like are teens with parents who smoke more likely to get their first cigarette from them? I think that would be uncool. But it seems to me like smoking before legal age is just too hard considering how everyones against it, i mean how can there even be teenage smokers today?

Raising teenagers are often a challenge for most parents, as teenagers also experience some confusion and difficulty in this stage. Not being able to handle teen behavior often gives frustration and disappointment for parents and may also lead to raising a problem teen or may result to a not very good relationship with your teenager.

To help you avoid frustrations in dealing with your teen, finding a teen parenting advice may help a lot. You can find a lot of resources to help you understand what is going on in a teenager’s mind and know how to deal with it. Indeed, being a teenager is also a stage of confusion for your teen as he may start to think he is not a child anymore but not yet an adult either. To help you and your teen to cope up with this crucial stage in life, here are some teen parenting advice and tips you might find useful.

Listen and discuss with your teen. One teen parenting advice that you may find important in dealing with your teenagers especially if it involves problems concerning them is to learn to listen and try to discuss the problem with your teen, and not lecture him for hours without letting him talk. Even if you do not agree to what he says, discuss with him. That way, you are also teaching him some decision-making for himself.

Make communication lines open and try to be a parent that your teen can talk to or ask about something. You have to talk to your teen also about the bad effects of drugs, alcohol, smoking, and many other unpleasant behaviors and not wait for him to experiment with it outside the house.

It is also helpful to be informed about the common behavior of teenagers today. Considering the widespread use of the internet and powerful media, it is just important to know what teenagers have been up to at these ages. Media influences and advancing technologies may play a big role in their lifestyle and their behavior, thus you have to also take time to know what’s with them in these ages.

Give time for your teen and your family. Most often, teens become stubborn or may become rebellious and spend most his time hanging out with friends especially if there’s no one to talk to at home and parents are often too busy to spare them time. One of the simplest teen parenting advice that you can probably keep in mind always is to give a little of your time for your family. Of course, by giving your time, you can guide them, you will be available for them, and you can be someone that your teenager can talk to.

Raising a responsible teen does not mean everything has to come from you. Of course, it is important to impose curfews and make rules and punishment, but you have to show them also that you believe in them and let them know that you believe that they can succeed in life, instead of bombarding them with criticisms. You have to give rewards as well, say sorry if you are at fault, and become a role model for your teen to follow.

By: Carolyn Anderson

About the Author:

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are
by Alex Harris, Brett Harris
Amazon Price: $8.76

Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfr...
by Rosalind Wiseman
Amazon Price: $10.20
Customer Review: Rosalind Wiseman is a wealth of helpful information. I love her approach - it's more than being nice, it's about social competence. She takes a serious, tough topic and belts out practical tips you can really use to help your children deal with the ...

Parenting Teens With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition)
by Foster Cline, Jim Fay
Amazon Price: $16.49
Customer Review: Love and Logic made a dramatic difference in our family relationships. Parenting a difficult 13 year old was creating stress and strife in our family. The principles of Love and Logic (and especially applied to teen situations in this book) were co...

Natalie asked:


what is your policy on having another teen of the opposite sex in your son/daughters room?

Mr. Nobody asked:


Would you have reacted in the same manner? Should he have to pay the fine? Do time?

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080912/D935BNJG1.html