Parenting a teenager is one of the most challenging tasks for parents. However, when they become violent, abusing, addict and depressed, handling them can become overwhelming.

You might feel tensed from lying awake late night worrying where your teens are, with whom they are and what they are doing. You perhaps despair over unsuccessful attempts of talking with kids, the open defiance and the endless fight or you may live in fear about your teenager’s anger, mood swings.

So, what should you do?

When teenagers begin to find their own identity, parents experience many behavioral changes in them that sometimes can be bizarre and unpredictable. They may experience behaviors like drinking, sex, self-harming, skipping school, violence and much more. Some also exhibit mental health problems like depression, anxiety or might have eating disorders.

Have a look at some of the pointers to keep in mind when dealing with teen:

Let Them Choose Their Paths:

Don’t intervene in your child’s decision about carrier or anything else. Let them build their own identity by offering independence. Assist them, but don’t make them entirely dependent on you. If they are in bad company, assist them and help them fight their battles. Teenagers are short-tempered and get angry quickly, so don’t evoke conversations that irritate them.

Also, give them the freedom as per their age but keep an eye on their actions and know about their whereabouts.

Communicate:

Be it driving, drugs, or premarital sex, talk with them and give them the required information so that they don’t surf the internet trying to find answers for them. Also, if their changing behavior or mood is your prime concern, talk with them and try to identify the problem.

Initially, your kid will juggle sharing things with you, but give them their space and time, and they will come back to you. Ensure them that you are available for them to help.

Moreover, if the child is silent and remains in their room, they might have had a mental illness. In such situations, seek help from the doctor or go to a teenager behavioral management program to iron-out the problems.

There Should Be Rules:

While the use of communication devices and social media has increased, their excessive use can put teen into the addiction and can hamper your kid’s attitude as well as lifestyle. Moreover, it can open doors for the people who want to take advantage of your native teenager.

So what to do?

Taking off their mobile phones and completely cutting off social media is not a good idea. Also, it can back-fire you and can lead to hiding, lying and stealing.

Mobile phones are common, so don’t restrict them, instead have strict rules about what they can access and what is limited to them. Monitor the use of internet and keep an eye on their browsing history. Have a friendly conversation about their interests and ideas.

You can also restrict the time spent on these devices by managing time spent on texting and browsing.

No Defying Of Rules:

Teenagers become rebellious at adolescences. They perhaps defy you because they always don’t want to do what is told to them. They will refuse to do chores and often break the rules. If your teenagers do these things, don’t punish them.

Since they are going through a lot of changes in their body, they get confused and need assistance to be on the right path. Create limits and make them clear about the rules, be it staying late at a friend’s place or partying with friends.

Make them clear that they will face the consequences if they enforce or defy the rules. You can also involve your kids while constructing rules so that you would know what they are ready for and what hamper them.

Indecisive Nature Is An Obvious Thing:

Since they are going through many social and emotional changes, they had a tough time making choices, be it a simple selection of clothes or it’s something relating to the life decisions. Teach them decision-making skills and help them make choices.

Make sure that your actions don’t bring them down. Also, don’t advice them so much as they may get more confused and end up making wrong choices. Share few tidbits, but don’t infringe completely.

So those were some things to keep in mind when dealing with a growing teen. Some of the tips to make your relation smooth with teen are:

• Create a healthy child-parent relationship
• Understand their perspective as well as their feelings
• Respect their ideas, opinion, emotions and ideas
• Do not criticize or make them feel insecure. Also, don’t belittle them in front of their friends
• Let them know that you are willing for the help, irrespective of the situation
• Your teenager perhaps doesn’t like you because of your strict behavior, but show them that you care and tell them that you love them.

Dealing with a teen is not rocket science; all you need is to maintain a healthy relationship and put some effort!