| Discipline of a teen is the most difficult parental task | | | | the teenager. Teens deal with multiple emotional issues |
| during adolescence. Stress, peer pressure, hormonal | | | | everyday and parents should communicate and be |
| changes, mood swings and a host of other changes | | | | their friend rather than their prison wardens. Parents |
| make teenagers difficult to deal with. Reasonable and | | | | should show the teen why a certain type of behavior |
| constructive discipline through healthy communication | | | | is unacceptable and make an effort to listen to the |
| will help the teenager through troubled times. Discipline | | | | teen's reasons for behaving in a certain manner. |
| needs to be flexible and moderate. Too much discipline | | | | Communication is a two way street and parents |
| will cause rebellion and too little will result in the | | | | should listen as well as instruct. |
| teenager going out of control. | | | | Mood shifts are natural in an adolescent. Hormonal |
| Parents should set ground rules to discipline their teen. | | | | changes and external reasons cause these mood |
| They should also set consequences for breaking | | | | shifts. Parents should monitor the activities of their |
| these rules. Parents need to be calm and unemotional | | | | children but they should not become their inquisitors. |
| in dealing with teenagers. Emotional parents cannot | | | | Parents should show a healthy interest in the activities |
| deal effectively with highly strung teenagers. When | | | | of the teenager but if the teenager is nagged every |
| teenagers transgress these rules they should be made | | | | day about his or her activities, he or she is likely to |
| to face the consequences by parents in a calm | | | | become withdrawn or defiant. Parents need to watch |
| manner. Parents should also make sure that too many | | | | out for major problems but continuous questioning will |
| or too few rules are not made. Every minor | | | | drive the teen away from the parent. |
| transgression should not reap a consequence. | | | | Parents need to set an example to the teen. Parents |
| Adolescence is the time when teenagers make | | | | need to discipline themselves to be a role model to |
| choices in their lives. Parents should work with | | | | teens as much as they were role models to the teen |
| teenagers when they make choices. Criticizing every | | | | when they were younger. If parents indulge in negative |
| choice made by a teenager will push the teen deeper | | | | habits, they are not likely to help the teen with his or |
| in trouble. Parents should distinguish between choices | | | | her troubles. Parents need to live within boundaries if |
| made out of curiosity and harmful destructive choices. | | | | they want their children to live within those boundaries. |
| Parents can ignore choices made by teenagers that | | | | Disciplined parents will find it easier to discipline their |
| they are likely to outgrow and intervene only when the | | | | teens. |
| teenager is making dangerous life threatening choices. | | | | Roles of parents change when a child becomes an |
| Extreme measures can result in extreme indiscipline. | | | | adolescent. Parents need to help teens to follow rules |
| Some parents resort to guilt and intimidation as a | | | | rather than expect the blind obedience they received |
| method of disciplining their teen. Making a teenager | | | | when the teen was a child. |
| guilty with intimidation will decrease the self esteem of | | | | |