So… what am I talking about here. I really think that basically parenting is pretty much common sense. We don't need any big system to parent. We need a few basic things:
- STAY CALM
- THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
- REMEMBER YOUR TEEN IS NOT OUT TO HURT YOU
- TAKE A BREAK BEFORE ACTING
- REMEMBER TEENS ARE NOT THINKING WITH THEIR ENTIRE BRAIN SO THEY MESS UP
- LISTEN MORE THAN YOU TALK
- CONSEQUENSES ARE NOT TO PUNISH BUT TO TEACH BETTER CHOICES
- LET ME SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME…. CONSEQUENCES ARE NOT TO PUNISH BUT TO TEACH BETTER CHOICES!!!!!
If we would remember these simple tips parenting is not so difficult. Mostly what makes it difficult is we personalize their behavior. We feel angry they "could have done…" then we retaliate. We also don't listen and we top this off by yelling. These things get us into all kinds of trouble. Even worse our teens do not trust that we are able to stay focused on the job and they look to themselves or other sources to be the anchor. When this happens we are lost.
As usual I could beat a dead horse but I will stop here. Think about this. As parents we need to respond to our teen's choices we don't need to react. So I'm beating that horse just a little bit. Thanks for listening. Sherri
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