Ways to Support Wayward Teenagers

All parents hope that their children progress through their teen years smoothly and relatively unscathed. While some teens succeed in accomplishing this feat, others aren̵7;t so lucky. While you shouldn̵7;t -- and likely can̵7;t -- prevent your teen from making mistakes, you can support your teen and encourage her to get back on a healthy and productive path.

  1. Have Family Meetings

    • With your work and your teen saddled with homework and other obligations, finding time to communicate can present a challenge. If you want to help your wayward teen, communication is critical. Create an opportunity to get to know your teen better, and to better support her, by setting up regular family meetings, suggests the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. At these meetings, talk about what̵7;s going on in your teen̵7;s life and discuss the rules and consequences of your home.

    Listen

    • Though it might seem a passive way to help, listening is often the best way to help your struggling teen, reminds Christine Langlois for ̶0;Canadian Living.̶1; Ask your teen to tell you what̵7;s going on in her life. Don̵7;t interrupt, criticize or dispense advice when she is sharing, Langlois advises, because all you will accomplish if you do any of these things is make your teen second-guess her decision to speak to you. When you do respond to what she has shared, be supportive and make it clear that you are first and foremost worried about her. Your teen will likely be pleasantly surprised by your lack of preaching and might feel more comfortable sharing with you in the future.

    Focus on Fairness

    • While it might be tempting to avoid dispensing discipline for fear that doing so will hurt the tenuous relationship you are trying to develop with your wayward teen, not disciplining would be a major mistake. To reduce the negative effect that punishments have on your relationship, make fairness a priority. Only punish your teen for misbehaviors that you have first warned her are against the rules. When you do punish the teen, make the punishment reasonable, avoiding steps such as excessively long groundings. Also, whenever possible, tie the punishment to the misbehavior. For instance, if your teen is caught drinking alcohol, require that she volunteer at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving meeting.

    Speak to a Professional

    • While it isn̵7;t at all uncommon for a teen to misbehave occasionally, teens that chronically act out or engage in self-destructive behaviors could be suffering from an underlying condition, such as a mental illness. If all attempts at reducing the prevalence of your teen̵7;s misbehavior prove fruitless, speak to his physician and ask for a referral to a mental health worker, suggests teen treatment facility Newport Academy.

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