Guest Author - Paula Petrie

A drug dealer sets next to my son in homeroom. Although, at least for now, my son doesn’t buy his product, he finds the boy funny and interesting. Reality for moms of teens isn’t always lighthearted fun, the piercing and body art, begging for cell phones and overpriced runners, are just the tip of this frightening soul.

“Although a teenager would argue the point she is not a grownup and parents still need to parent by showing patience, tolerance, respect, understanding, and wisdom,” says Denise Witmer, About: Parenting Teens

Conversing with your teen is a great way for her to practice understanding, sharing, and show her maturity. Research has shown that many children go into adolescent and teen years with a restricted language for expressing their emotions. This puts many children at risk for behavioral, emotional, academic, and social problems.

Help your teenager develop a dialogue for expressing and understanding her own emotions. This will also help her when she is considering the actions of others. The ability to have successful conversations strengthen a teen’s confidence and lessens the need to follow peers.

From the awe and splendor of your baby turned almost adult, to reckless, and frightening basket case. Denise Witmer, About: Parenting Teens
states, "Because I said so," works fine in a power struggle involving discipline. You are the parent, and you do have the final say. Your teenager realizes this and although she may not show it, she appreciates your strength and trusts you because of it. Try and explain your reasoning when things calm down.

Even with explicit sex education classes and the in-your-face awareness of sexual issues, (thanks to the media) there is a rise in STD’s among young people. Although teens have an in-depth overview, they really understand very little about the inner workings of complicated relationships or life in general. Never shut your teen out or create a situation where she feels she can’t talk to you. Denise Witmer, About: Parenting Teens
suggests, “Think things over when you need to, but explain that you just need some time.”

We worry about withdrawn kids reaching their potential or that teens esteem may be too low to take advantage of opportunities. But research shows that high esteem more often gets kids into trouble with the law. Healthy esteem sits comfortably in the middle with a strong grip on humility. Keep active informative dialogue going with your teen even if this seems more like a monologue for periods of time.