Parenting 101: Secrets on Good Relationship with your Teen
Parenting has no equivalent salaries compared to your career. If you are both working parents, then you have different problems than those stay-at-home parents. So what should you need to know then?
Parenting is a challenging yet enjoyable task. Being parents should not be taken lightheartedly, especially when you have teenagers at home. So what will be your game plan?
As a parent, I have to deal with my child from toddler to teen. They have roller-coaster moods, different demands and most of all; they have the attitude that will get into your nerve. But, love is unconditional, and it is true when you are a parent.
Being a parent is no joke or a role that you can easily detach yourself from. It is responsible, not being a perfectionist. You don’t need to be strict. Good relationships between teenagers and their parents need to be positive and filled with happiness.
In parenting, the functional relationship between parents and teens is essential because it is correlated with many positive things at home. Otherwise, teens can feel neglected if the link has violence and hatred.
So how do you keep cool?
Act like A Friend
Parenting is an act on how you treat them as their friend. Appreciations from parents are what teenagers need. With some independence with guidance, it can form more than a parent-teenager relationship. It could build up friendship, which is vital to have a win-win solution to every concern.
Make Time to Have a Conversation at the End of the Day
After a long day, I make time to have a short conversation while doing household chores or after dinner time. And most important, I always check on them before bedtime, asking if everything is all right before going to sleep. It’s a beautiful feeling of coping the weekend with family.
Know the Peer Groups
Parenting needs to know who their sons and daughters are growing with. Personally, I invited some of his friends. This will be a good chance for me to see the environment of their peers. Inviting them over is one way to know the peers of my son without limiting him to socialize. I suggest you also need it?
After Academic
One struggle of my son is dealing with his academic. So after school, I make sure to give him some schedule to balance academic and social media. Don’t act like an older sibling, but let them feel that you are going to supervise until they become professionals.
No Expectations but Make Standards High
I teach my son to be competitive. Being supportive will always get your child to do well, and in achieving the goals, she/he wanted. But if you do not consider what they want, it will be hard for them to decide for themselves as they grow older. So we as parents need to do is begin shaping our sons and daughters own goals now.
Just Hang Out and Talk
Based on my experience, this is true. Breakfast and dinner are essential meals in my family. These are the time that we can have an excellent opportunity to talk about the plans before and the remarkable ending of the day. It is a good time for your teenagers to get a hold of them and avoid unnecessary problems. The simpler, the better so they could feel no pressure at all.
No Caffeine before Bed Time
For teens, sleep is essential, and the recommended sleep is still needed to be in good shape. How to maintain your teens are getting enough sleep? Well, you just need to cut the caffeine before bedtime. Drinking beverages with caffeine before going to bed is not a good idea. Why? Because too much caffeine will disrupt your sleep; melatonin production will stop and makes for your kids to fall asleep at night.
Monitor Use of Gadgets
Gadgets like a computer, mobile phones, tablet, and laptops should be in the common space at home. In our house, computers and other devices will only be used wherein we can see them. Social media is what makes my son entice in using gadgets. However, I showed him that the priority use of the device would be for studying – researching and stuff for academic. I assure that monitoring their use of gadget is the priority here.
Making them Independent Naturally
What is the meaning of independence for teenagers? Real autonomy does not mean to be liberated from parents or guardians. The real sense of freedom is close and trustworthy to parents.
For instance, it will not wise to force my son to be independent when he is not ready. But of course, I have to make him understand that he must learn how to decide on his own. One way to do that is set him out for summer camp. Not only living on his own, but it can also develop his social skills.
Make Amendments and Value the Relationship
I raised my son without punishment or conditions. I make him understand that trust between family members is essential. Trust to each member is needed to have good ties and comfortable in sharing everything about what happened after the day.
Our Advice
There will come a time that our sons and daughters will learn how to be independent. And good parenting will help them to cultivate to value the relationship between family members.
The moment they become independent, we need to accept it. Teens are independent means learning to socialize with other people. But children need to be in touch with their families, especially when their parents are old and need to be in companionship.
Parenting has a critical role for their teenagers. It is the time when your children’s emotion can be persuaded easily. They will try to start building an intimate relationship outside your family. It is normal, and as parents, we should not intervene. But we need to be in full guidance to keep our children’s emotion bonded in our family. A solid foundation of love in our family will make a big difference to our children when they reached teenagers life.
The intense emotional foundation is the key so that even when we will let them go, they will be ready emotionally. Especially when they are in the age as a teenager, they are starting to develop a relationship with other young adults. And this is what we need to look after. Though we trusted them entirely, it will be wiser to still monitor them, especially at this age.
Good parenting is essential, and it takes a lot of patience and understanding to provide full support to our sons and daughters.