Things That Make Teens Feel Responsible

Teens require parental guidance and personal experience to learn responsibility. As adolescents experience significant development growth in preparation for adulthood, gaining a sense of responsibility is essential for making healthy life choices, says the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Parents should encourage teens to balance the desire to take on more responsibility with enjoying some of the ease that comes with being a minor -- such as freedom from serious financial obligations.

  1. Employment

    • One of the most popular ways that adolescents seek to establish a sense of responsibility is through employment. Working teens can benefit from employment opportunities by learning how to be fiscally responsible and professional in the workplace. While teens seek to step out and earn an income, it's important for them to have a healthy balance between schoolwork, extracurricular activities and necessary social time with friends, says the Yale Medical Group website. Parents should encourage teens to work part-time -- preferably on the weekends -- and to use time-management tools to appropriately balance obligations, such as calendars and to-do lists.

    Freedom and Independence

    • Teens thrive and feel more responsible when given a reasonable amount of freedom and independence -- an amount largely dependent on the individual teen and parental guidelines. While adolescents crave an increasing amount of freedom and independence, it's important for parents to set boundaries for teens to follow, recommends The Children's Trust website. Setting boundaries while increasing freedom and independence teaches teens how to control impulses and make smart choices. For example, your teen might desire the freedom to attend a music concert with friends -- to which you may agree -- however, it's essential that your teen has a curfew to which she must adhere. While your teen's friends may not have been instructed to return home at a certain time, enforcing boundaries, such as curfews, teaches your teen how to balance having fun with remembering other obligations and considering her personal safety.

    Driving Privileges

    • A teen will often assume that once he turns the legal driving age he will get a car and hit the road. With this mentality, teens presume that driving is a right, and fail to realize that driving's essentially a privilege. Many teens are open to having driving responsibilities because it helps them gain popularity with friends, and gives them more freedom and independence from their parents. With the excitement a teen experiences once he receive his driver's license, it's useful for parents to have him sign a driving contract, suggests Angela Oswald, M.S.W., with Seven Counties Services, Inc., a behavioral health care facility in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Driving contracts are commitments from teens that they will act responsibly while operating a vehicle -- observing all state driving laws. These contracts remind teens of the responsibility they have to their parents and to themselves while on the road.

    Making Decisions

    • In a quest for freedom and independence, teens ultimately want the freedom to make their own decisions. Ohio State University Extension educator Eileene Welker suggests that parents refrain from making decisions for their teens, as doing so inadequately prepares them for decision making in adulthood. Again, parents should set clear boundaries for their teens to follow, and make plain the consequences for crossing boundaries. Although guidelines establish parameters through which a teen can navigate, they should not impede your teen's ability to make his own choices. Your teen will feel more responsible choosing his extracurricular activities, school clubs, friendships, career path and other interests, and may become resentful if you select these things for him. Unless your teen's decision making is causing himself or others harm, support him as much as possible, and offer your input with caution -- only if he says it's OK.

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