Does your home appear like a battlefield every morning? Is your teen giving you sleepless nights? Parenting troubled teens is like doing overtime without being paid. Parents generally rule the house instead of teens, but nowadays the scene can be just the opposite. Often parents find it very hard to tackle their teenagers and sometimes this difficulty turns a child anti-social and it can affect their schooling. Parents have to play a dual role, a role of an understanding friend as well as mentor.

Teenagers generally lack motivation and can get depressed over the slightest issue, yet they are often unwilling to open up with their parents. If this is the case they should be taken for counselling. An out of control teen should not be pestered to speak up as it is natural for him or her to get annoyed. You should be patient with them, advising them instead of being too stern. Teenagers generally love to rebel, so you should handle them carefully.

Parents are not perfectionists and sometimes do lack parenting skills, hence don’t ever try to discipline your teens using anger as it triggers them off. Be patient with them and try and be a friend. We as parents should set some rules and values in our house and also follow it so that teens learn and follow too. Examine their behavior and then try to understand the reason. Teenagers often test authority, so be considerate with them and allow them to express themselves, but make it clear through example and explanation that there are boundaries.

If your teen is facing problems at school and has falling grades or is on the verge of getting expelled, then obviously the first thing would be to find the cause of it and identify measures to handle the issue. If you consider severe measures such as boarding school, boot camps or troubled teen programs, try and understand the situation well before adopting these drastic measures. Your child may be at fault or they may be the victim of bullying but feel unable to talk about it.

Teen depression needs to be treated quickly to avoid it leading to serious issues. It is essential that parents recognize the symptoms early because treatment is more successful with early involvement. Typical depression signs shown by teenagers are low energy levels, irritable nature, suicidal tendencies, indecisive nature, drop in social activities or sudden change in peer group. You should also be on the look-out for any sign of substance abuse. Talk to your family physician if you are concerned.

The article is for information only and the author accepts no liability for any action taken. All health problems should be discussed with your physician.