Teenagers

by Purza 41 Replies latest jw friends

  • Incense_and_Peppermints
    Incense_and_Peppermints

    (((Purza)))

    check these out:

    From the Desk of the Principal?Breaking Teens? Bad Habits ? Dr. Phil Style

    Set clear boundaries. Establish clear boundaries that cannot be crossed and then stick to them. If you tell your teen that he will be punished if he breaks his curfew, be sure to live up to it.

    Plug into your teen?s life. Be aware of who your teenager is hanging out with, monitor her progress in school and notice any changes in her behavior that could be related to drug or alcohol use.

    Negotiate. Sit down with your teen and negotiate a clear set of rules and regulations that are realistic and that you can both live up to. (Maybe use chauffeuring services as a negotiating tool.)

    Discuss, don?t scream. Aggressive behavior is easy to tune out. Speak to your teen like he?s an adult and he may act like one.

    Forget ?cool.? Your job as a parent is not to be a cool friend, but to set up boundaries in which your teen can comfortably grow.

    Reward your teen for positive behavior- Being a troubled teen is not a lifetime sentence. When your teen makes the effort to break a negative pattern of behavior, be sure to acknowledge the change by giving him more freedom and showing him that it is possible to rebuild trust. This positive reinforcement will encourage him to keep up the good work.

    These suggestions sound like very good advice! Raising a teenager while maintaining the right amount of effective control over their actions is an awesome responsibility. Until they grow up you won?t even know how successfully you are managing your role as an effective parent. At school, we issue report cards. Each quarter to let you know how successful the student-teacher relationship is. As a parent, you don?t receive a report
    card indicating how you and your teen are relating to each other. If you can read Dr. Phil?s six tips and recognize that you are doing most of them, or if you can recognize an area in which you can improve your relationship with your teen, then you get an A+ for excellent parental efforts. Keep up the good work, and we highly recommend that you keep repeating, ?Being a troubled teen is not a lifetime sentence? as often as needed.

    ***don't back off. she needs (and wants) your restrictions and boundaries more now than ever. she's trying to assert her independence, but at the same time, maybe this is her way of asking for more of you. i wouldn't fret too much about her not being organized like you - maybe that doesn't suit her personality ... the important thing is that she listens to your concerns and makes even small changes in a more postive direction. maybe you can take her to target and let her pick out some cute things for her room... they have lots of cute storage boxes and cd holders, etc. and if she gets to have control over that part of her room, she might be more apt to keep it looking nice.

    best wishes

  • Mulan
    Mulan
    I was wondering if you were going to dig up that newspaper clipping! Thank god you still have it. I'm going to need it in about six years.

    Yes, I think you will. I remember so well, when I read that column when you were 14. I felt a tremendous relief. I thought you had changed into this sullen, grumpy little bitch. I read that and realized it was a transition and we could survive it. Understanding what something is, can help you to relax and let go of the anxiety too. It worked too. I let up and you settled right down. As soon as your realized you could make decisions without my coming unglued, and had a say in your life, all was well.

  • Happy Guy :)
    Happy Guy :)

    I can really relate to the personal taxi and maid stuff. I am just coming through this with teanage sons (now in their late teens).

    There must be consequences. Make rules that are understandable and clearly defined. It's unfair to the child to have vague rules as they can't possibly know when they have breached them.

    Then when the teenager breaches the rules (for no good reason), take away priviledges.

    I can think of a few. Girls love taking on the phone or msn - restrict it.

    If she persists then no going out with freinds on the weekend.

    Make sure to not cave in when you use these methods because if you do they will be useless.

    Even my youngest, 17, keeps his room clean, helps out with household chores, vacuums and even clean bathrooms. Every weekend when we do the big cleaning he takes 2 bathrooms and I take the other 2 and that includes the toilets and showers. He even mops the kithen floor.

    Your child will complain and be miserable but when she sees that you are serious and not backing down and that you stick to the punishments she will adapt. She may even give you the BS like her freinds don't have to do these chores.

    God I am glad to be through that crap. Good luck Mom and don't let her push you around.

  • Princess
    Princess
    I thought you had changed into this sullen, grumpy little bitch.

    I was just putting on the new personality!

  • Purza
    Purza

    Wow -- I run downstairs for 30 minutes to watch the football game (and Jon Stewart) and I already have two pages of replies. Thanks everyone for your replies. I need to ponder over them before I can reply in detail.

    Thanks.

    Purza

  • Odrade
    Odrade

    I LOVE "concerned mama's" advice. I wish my mom had been like this.

    Sheila, I cannot even tell you how much I disagree with what you "should" have done. My mom did this kind of stuff. Stripping my room down to the mattress. Throwing all my possessions out the window onto the front lawn. Dumping all of my drawers and everything into the center of my room then locking me in until everything was in it's "proper" place. Taking my bedroom door off the hinges and storing them and the closet doors in the garage... I could go on. It was abusive. Especially considering that she was a giant hypocrite. Our house was a mess in all the closets and drawers and in the rooms with the doors closed. But MY room had to be immaculate or she would be screaming at me whenever my father was not in the house. It would have been horrible even if she HAD kept a neat house.

    And yes, I've had therapy for this. Took six months before I could even acknowledge that I have a right to be angry about the way she treated me over a stupid room.

  • Incense_and_Peppermints
    Incense_and_Peppermints
    There is an interesting book called "Queen Bees and Wannabees" by Rosalind Wiseman, about teen girl culture.

    tina fey took that book and wrote "mean girls" from it.. that movie is awesome!

  • Happy Guy :)
    Happy Guy :)

    Huh I was just looking at Concerned Mama's post. Very good input there.

    The link she gave you is even more interesting as a couple of years ago I watched a science show on this topic with my younger son. It tlaks about the teen brain not being fully developed particularly the part that is responsible for good judgement. This continues to develope inot thje early twenties. It sure has helped me to be patient with them but more importantly it had a big affect on my younger son who watched it. Just knowing this information has made him behave more reasonably and less confromtational with me on important issues. I suggest you try ot expose your daughter to this scientific information and then explain why it is important for her to permit you to guide her development willingly on important issues.

    Edit: Holy s**t when I am tired my spelling really sucks

  • Purza
    Purza

    I have now saved this post in my favorites so that I can go back and review it when I get frustrated. Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice. I have taken privileges away -- no internet and cell phone, and that has worked on occassion.

    However, I think I got the message that I should pick my battles. Let the room go (I guess i could do that) and focus on the more important things and the room will follow.

    It is very heartening to see that others have survived the teen years. I know I was horrible to my mother and she still reminds me of it to this day!

    Thanks again to everyone.

    Purza

  • Soledad
    Soledad
    I was a good kid, never gave them any trouble, except my room was often messy. THIS is what she fixated on, and it made me hate her, and her hate me. Almost 20 years later I still have issues with the way she treated me during that time period

    thats how I was treated as a teen also. It made me so mad, and on top of that all the JW crap shoved down my throat. If we could actually turn back time, I know that I would have responded better if she didn't act so psycho and treated me with at least a little more respect.

    Soledad *has no parenting experience but plenty of being a teenager experience*

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