Struggling with teen drama
We have all been thru our teenage years. Some remember it as the worst time and other remember it as the best time. How did we deal with the drama then? It was before cell phones, internet, MP3 players, blogs and You Tube. Teens in today's age have a lot more to deal with when it comes to exposure and bullying. They could be sitting and doing something innocent when they are captured on a camera phone and then it is posted on the internet or passed from cell phone to cell phone. How do we as parents, adults and peers they look up handle the drama and exposure that teens are going thru? Our goal is to help them become responsible adults.
When you look up the definition for teen drama on the internet, you will receive a description of a television series that focuses on teenage characters. Most of the television series that are on television will take a realistic situation and dramatize it to get a reaction out of its viewers. This makes teenage drama even more dramatized and strung out. We as parents need to keep an eye on what our teens are watching and using as an example.
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To help your teen deal with the teen drama that goes on all around them all day, you need to keep all communications lines open. If your teen comes to you about a subject that they want to take about, be open and honest with your teen. Make sure that you are honest and truthful with them. If you aren't, someone will be or they will find the answers they are looking for somewhere else. If you decide you want to approach your teen about a subject, do so gently and with respect. Talking about certain topics can be a sensitive subject and may embarrass your teen. Be patient and explain and answer any questions that they may have during your conversation.
Every parent struggles with their teen's privacy. Once teens hint a certain point in their life, they want a certain amount of privacy. Set boundaries between yourself and your teen. Doing this will help your teen to trust you. If you can respect their privacy with trust, your teen in turn will respect what you want out of them. Communication with your teen will help you to trust them also. If you suspect something that your teen is doing, do not jump to conclusion, but simply ask. If you have the openness, your teen will answer you truthfully. If you find out your teen is doing something you don't agree with, talk to them about it before you set a punishment. Your teen knows when they are doing wrong; you are the one that caught them. Help them by working with them thru the punishment. This will help your teen to have independence and will help them to make choices in the future.
Set rules and regulations with your teen. Doing so will help you to stay in control of the situations. Reward your teen when they have been good and have been doing well in school and in their personal and extracurricular activity. For example, your teen goes out on the weekends, you have a curfew set at 10:00pm, which your teen has made it home right on time or just after. Reward your teen with a later curfew next time they go out. Be sure to let them know that it will not happen all the time and if they take advantage of it you can take it away as fast as you gave it to them.
