In parenting troubled teens, parents must take special action to make sure that their teen’s self confidence and esteem are growing positively. Parents might be asking, “How can a parent instill confidence and good self esteem in their teen?” There are many areas where this should be applied, and all too often because of a teen’s defiance, these areas are usually placed last on the parenting list of responsibilities. Here are three tips parents can begin doing it right now.
When I say that parents must encourage their teen, we obviously know what that means. There are many areas in your teen’s life where they feel inadequate or insecure. Maybe you are aware of them, and maybe not. But, when you see your teen’s self confidence is slipping, or when your teen seems depressed or down, simply encouraging them with words of life will lift their spirit even if it is not showing externally.
Maybe your teen feels insecure about their weight, is unhappy with their appearance, feels low because they lack intellectual skills that their friends have, or feels left out a lot because their friends are leaving them out of fun things.
With all of the above, your words MATTER. If your teen is insecure about their weight and they are not overweight, they need to know, especially from their parent. If your teen is overweight, encourage them to do something about it. Exercise or diet with them in an effort to support and encourage them in their efforts. If they feel left out, invite them. Pursue them and let them know they are special and that you want to hang out with them.
Is your teen doing some new thing with their life? Effectively parenting troubled teens means that even though your son or daughter is very defiant or aggressive towards you, you are making every effort to continue to engage them. Do they have a new hair style? Are they behaving better? Are they making wiser choices with their lives? While parenting troubled teens, parents have to put aside their differences with their kid and reach out to them. This will build a relationship between a parent and a troubled teen.
I know it is difficult, and I know you are sitting there right now saying, “If only you knew my kid, you would not say that!” I WAS your kid. And, my parents checked out often, but not completely. I’m so grateful that my parents never completely checked out. You have to fight this urge and continue encouraging, initiating, and pursuing a relationship with your teen even if those times don’t end well. There will be good times, I promise. Maybe not often, maybe not tomorrow, but your teen will wake up later down the road and realize that their parent(s) reached out to them continually.
In closing, be sure to look at some books in our bookstore about encouraging and pursuing your teen. As hard as it is, please encourage, initiate, and pursue your teen. Parenting troubled teens is a huge responsibility.
Author Resource:-
Jordan is the founder and an author of http://www.resourcetolife.com, where parents find resources and support for raising a troubled teen.
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