Posts Tagged teen influences

Stay Involved Without Sabotaging Your Teen’s Social Life

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Raising Healthy Kids on February 27th, 2010

Parents usually commit the mistake of being too forward with their kids. Teens usually need space of their own, and it is important to remember that they have their own personalities that need and beg to be respected. Getting involved in a very important stage of development – adolescence — is very crucial, so care must be taken.

Communication

parent-teen commnicationThe ultimate key for any success in the relationship between teen and parent is communication. Talking with your teen means you want to be involved in your teen’s life. It may only take a few minutes a day to talk to the teens in order to understand and perhaps detect potential depression problems. Listen carefully and actively, and remember that you do not need to always give advice. Often, listening is enough.

Family Trips

Family trips and get-togethers are very effective to get to know your child. Going on a family trip is a great way to establish good communication lines between you and your child.

Adult-Supervised Activities

Activities like participation in organized sports, after-school programs or youth organizations are great ways to keep track of your child’s progress without necessarily you being there all the time. A parent can monitor his child’s progress and personality by asking school administrators, teachers and peers leading the activities.

It is also important that you should make your home available in case your teen wants to invite his or her friends over. Doing activities at home is great way to know your child’s friends and have a better idea of their activities. You can get to know your teen better if you were able to observe firsthand how he is around friends.

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Teen Pressures: Sibling Rivalry

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Prevention, Raising Healthy Kids on February 4th, 2010

Teens go through a lot of pressure from all angles. Some teens handle it more responsibly while others resort to drug abuse, alcoholism and smoking. Not so long ago, today’s parents had to undergo similar pressures too, but the temptations and distractions may not be as strong as they are now. Today’s teens are bolder, with heavy influences from TV, movies and Internet.

sibling rivalryOne of the most common and powerful issues that teens have to face is sibling rivalry. While a little competition is always healthy as it allows our kids to learn certain relationship skills, some can’t handle the stress of being compared to a sibling who seems to often emerge as the ‘winner’.

Parents need to understand the factors that cause sibling rivalry and to ensure that these do not go overboard, which may result to intense competition over attention and jealousy.

Some kids feel that other siblings get more attention from their parents. Most parents would not admit to having favorites, but they should also not immediately dismiss their kids’ feelings as completely invalid and unfounded. Parents need to recognize these feelings and work hard to make everyone feel that there are no favorites.

Age and birth order are also factors to consider. Firstborns may feel that the younger siblings get more care and attention. On the other hand, the younger siblings may feel that the older ones are more trusted and have more freedom. The important thing to do here is to allow everyone to realize that their age and birth order do not affect how much you love each one of them.

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