TEACHING TRUST

As parents we have so many important things to teach our teens. One of these important topics is trust. Teaching our teens to trust others starts in toddlerhood. This is such an important developmental step - learning that there are people who care about you and you can trust them. Understanding this is essential for your teen to have healthy relationships with others throughout their lives. Once our teen has the ability to think through choices, he can see from past interactions that his parent has often made choices that are in his best interest. This understanding builds trust. When a parent has a disagreement with his teen, the foundation of trust can be so helpful in resolving the disagreement. So how do you as a parent continue to teach trust? Being a consultant to your teen about his life - talking him through difficult decisions but not telling him what to do - helps solidify trust. By doing this you are also teaching your teen that he can trust himself to make good choices - which is crucial in helping him become a young adult who feels competent. Dr. Debra