By Dr. John Townsend
- Don’t forget about your teen years. You were not perfect, had attitudes, and probably messed up.
- Get to know your teen instead of just trying to fix them.
- Listen more and lecture less.
- Your teen needs to know that you care for him at a heart level.
- When it comes to parenting, who you are carries much more weight than what you say.
- Be careful of knee-jerk reactions.
- Do not try to match your teens anger; you are the adult.
- Your teen needs your empathy even when you are the target of their rage.
- You must be charm-proof. Many times there is a charm between a dad and his daughter, or a mom and her son, that causes the parent to overlook the bad behavior of the teen.
- Your teen needs the safety of structure.
- Require your teen’s respect.
- Schedule family time with your teens. Walking together is much better than a movie.
- Disrespect is a sign of deeper issues.
- Help your teen learn to be responsible by paying for things on their own.
- Allow your teen to question faith to learn what they believe. Help them think instead of giving a quick answer that only helps you as the parent.
- Help your teen to control their impulses, specifically when it comes to internet. Help them avoid harmful content, harmful people, and harmful over-involvement.
- Establish that Internet as a privilege, not a need.
- As a parent, you have a lot of influence when it comes to your children’s attitude towards money.
- Be the grown-up; don’t engage in fighting with your teen.
- Don’t get caught up in the crisis of today. Your teen needs you to pull them out of the crisis and know there is a tomorrow.
- As you grow in your own life, so grows your parenting. Work on your own character issues because your teen needs your help.
- You need God’s help. God can give you wisdom and insight.