Whatever you do, please don’t give up. My wife and I raised 5 children and we remember those teen years. They were trying times. We wondered if we’d ever get past that time. I’m happy to report, we not only got past it, we also learned what seemed to us at the time, to be the right way to handle many of the challenges of the teen years. When, in fact, we were actually making things worse.
Like many things we face in life, there are right ways and then there are other ways to handle difficult situations. Today, with the internet, there is a wealth of helpful information available to you.
One source I’ve found very helpful is WebMD.com. There are many articles there that are designed to help both the parents with teens and the teens themselves. It’s important to understand why that loving cuddly child you raised now seems to be far more interested in his or her friends and out-of-the-home recreation. Do you wonder what happened between their 9th birthday and now?
I remember when our children wanted to crawl in bed with us and snuggle up. Then all of a sudden it seemed like we, as parents, became their enemies. If this has occurred in your family, don’t lose heart. It’s very typical of today’s teens.
Our family is all grown up now and they even have their own teens. Yes, things have changed over the years thanks to computers, cell phones, video games, etc. It’s much easier for kids to get connected with other kids today. With that connection comes the intermingling of values, customs, and in many cases, obedience (or the lack of it).
All of this brings me to the point of recommending professional help . I suggest that you find someone you trust who works full-time with today’s parents and teens. This may be the parents of other teens you know who seem to be overcoming the teen problems. It could be a youth pastor at your church. While these may not be professionals, they may give you some advice based on their experience.
Another source of help might be a child psychologist, a school counselor, or other professional. There is professional advice available to you on the internet but it’s usually limited to just reading the material and hoping it applies to your situation.
I have found a really good source that I wish we had had when our children were teens. This source is available online at a very reasonable price. The author of the site and material has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology. He has been working full-time with parents and teens for nearly 20 years.
What is so outstanding about him is he not only provides his material at an extremely reasonable cost, he also provides his email address, his toll-free phone number, and his cell phone number to you.
The great benefit to you is obvious. When you have specific questions, you can get specific answers .
It’s so frustrating not to know what to do even though you have material about how to deal with teen problems. Sometimes you know it’s in the material but you can’t find it. Or what’s in the material may not be specific enough to give you a specific answer.
With the program I’m talking about, if the answers are not spelled out enough to make you confident you know what to do, you are encouraged to contact the author for more information. You not only get the information, you can even get it personalized from the author to your family’s specific situation.
