Parenting a Rebellious Teenager

Do you have a teenage child who is brilliant, creative and perhaps ‘friendly’ outside the home, but turns out to be somehow hostile and defiant at home.

Has your child ever ran away for hours or even days in protest against your decision about what he is trying to do or is already doing?

Relax as you are not alone, so many other parents are experiencing the same the from their teenage children these days.

The following are the steps you should take when your teenage child is becoming rebellious:

1. Try to find out what is bugging him, but count yourself lucky if he tells you.

2. Start to give him some space and latitude and recognize the fact that he is a

young man who possesses raging hormones.

3. Offer him new, more flexible rules .Don't allow for any question from him, neither

should you explain. Just give them to him.

4. Give him chances to make his own mistakes, which are also opportunities to earn

trust. Never expect him to be perfect, he is still a teenager, after all.

5. Treat him as if he has just packed into your house; negotiate with him and set new

boundaries.

6. Don’t be tempted to hold any family counseling section where you would unwittingly

be forcing him into talking about his feelings in front of his sisters and his mom, l’m

sure he will hate that. The possible result would be that he will lie and say whatever

everyone wants to hear.

7. Recognize that he is a grown up and he needs some serious adult responsibilities, and

some trust too.

8. If you are going to pick your kid up at the park, you must agree on a meeting place

somewhere nearby because teenagers do not always like being picked up in front of

their friends.

9. Learn how to communicate with him. He will respond best when approached indirectly

and talk about things which will not make him feel that he is that exposing himself

emotionally thereby subjecting his feelings to a risk.

10. Don’t ever bring in counselors as it will worsen the relationship between you and

your kid instead of improving it.. The child may see it as an admission that you

can not cope on their own. The likely consequence of this is probably going to be a

loss of respect from your child.

Rebellion is a thing everyone of us have tried (in our past years )at one time or the other.Therefore, it will be advised that you should try all of or any of the above solutions and see which one would work.

The main point,however, is to see your teenage child as a human being;who is still young but who is trying to grown up faster than his age.For this reason, he cannot be perfect and should never be expected to be so.

Kazeem