10 Tips for Preparing as a Parent for the Teenage Difficult Years
Some parents don’t know what to do during the teen years with teenagers in order to get them to behave. Here are ten tips for preparing as a parent for the difficult years in order to reduce the amount of problems during the teen years.
1. Let your teenagers know that they can’t break the rules. Make sure that your teenagers know that they must be back home by a certain time each night. You don’t want to be flexible on the curfew time with them. You want them to know that you are serious about them being home by the curfew time.
2. Always enforce the house rules. It is important to not let them get away with not following the house rules. If you let them get away with not following the house rules then they get the impression that you aren’t really serious about the house rules. You want them to know that you are strict.
3. Make sure that they still do chores around the house. Don’t let them slack off on the chores. Constantly reminding them to do chores will help them stay out of trouble since they will be busy during chores most of the time. You want them to know that you are serious about them being a responsible young person and doing chores shows that they are responsible and reliable.
4. Always make it rule that the teenagers must keep good grades. Don’t let them slack off in school. When teens know that they must get good grades in school then they know that they can’t slack off since you are serious. You want to teach them the importance of getting good grades since it will help them later on in college and help them gain more knowledge.
5. Always let them know that drug use is NEVER allowed. Don’t let your teenagers get away with drinking underage or any other type of drug use. You want them to know that drugs are bad and that you won’t tolerate any drug use whatsoever. You want them to know that you are serious and that you care about their health. Let them know that you don’t want them to end up in jail for any crimes related to drugs.
6. Always enforce the rules that you have about them going out on dates with anyone. If you don’t want them to date unless they are 18 then make sure to always enforce those rules. Tell them your reasons behind the rules about allowing them to date or not.
7. Talk to your teens about sex and tell them the consequences of their actions. If you won’t tolerate any of your teenage daughters getting pregnant at a young age then tell them. Let them know what will happen if they end up getting pregnant such as not being to finish high school with their class or not having hardly any freedom. Let them know that pregnancy is a serious matter.
8. Talk to your teens about the rules regarding the privilege to drive. Tell them that getting a drivers license is a privilege and not a right. Let them know that you have their drivers license revoked if they are getting in trouble or get too many tickets.
9. Talk to the teens about the rules driving a car. Let them know that if they drive any of the family vehicles that they have to be back home by a certain time and any other rules that you may have about it. Teenagers need to know that they have limits that they must follow.
10. Don’t let your teenagers swear at you or be disrespectful in any way. You want them to know that swearing will never be tolerated whatsoever. You want them to be respectful towards you and other people. Let the teenagers know that you are serious and don’t let them break the rules.
