I’m just going to say it. Parents think they know it all, say they are right when they know they aren’t and think that they know what is best for us teens – and I’m sorry to tell you, but you might be wrong.
You might say, well you’re a teen of them so of course, you’re siding with them. If so, you’re also wrong about that. Because us teens are often wrong too.
Child and Parent bonding must be built on many steps, but luckily for you, I made it into 3. Freedom, Safety and Trust.
I’m 14 now so I guess id say I’m a professional teenager, all day, every day. And it’s true, some teens want to feel like they can do whatever they want when they want, where they want, and obviously that’s a bad idea. But some freedom is good. So no, don’t let them run around an not knowing where they are. But, if they have never let you down before, when they ask if they can go to the movies with their friends Friday, let them. First, download Life360, tell them to check in when they get there, on their way home and let you know when they get home. If they do as told, congrats you have an easy to manage teen, but if they forget a small step don’t freak out, it happens.
Next, Safety. There are a lot of weird things and weird people in our current world. And you can never be too careful of your kid. So like I said, make sure they have Life360, and make sure you have some type of safety code. Like my mom said, “if you text me ‘X’ and you’re somewhere that you feel in danger, I’ll come to get you, and anyone who also wants to get out of the situation with you – and I will take them home and not ask any questions until it has passed”.
Luckily I trust my parents enough to tell them when I’m going somewhere so I don’t have to worry, but half of your kids don’t trust you. If you’re always yelling at them for the smallest things or acting like they don’t exist you should not expect them to come to you when something bad happens. Don’t baby them and turn them into snowflakes but also remember teenagers are like time bombs waiting to explode. They don’t want you to yell at them for always being on the phone and then you always are on the phone, or that being stressed is not an excuse for not paying attention and you saying the same thing. Don’t minimize their problems because they are “just kids” because you’re right. That’s all they are, and they haven’t gone through what you have – but for the times they are living in, what they are going through is huge.
Whenever a kid misbehaves in public you say, “I wonder what the parents act like” so don’t always point the finger at them, because the first step of parenting a child is you.
