| While it is true that the adolescent years is a journey | | | | successful parenting. Studies show that teenagers, |
| from childhood to adulthood, parenting adolescents can | | | | whose parents took genuine interests in their daily |
| also be seen as the same journey. Hormonal changes, | | | | activities (but not to the point of prying on their private |
| struggling to be independent, discovering their own | | | | lives), are more likely to stay out of trouble. This is also |
| identity, and peer pressure all make teenage life difficult | | | | true for parents who know most of their friends, as |
| for the concerned individuals, but it is equally daunting | | | | well as their activities outside school. To be effective in |
| on parents who often hear such phrases as "you don't | | | | this area, parenting adolescents needs to come out as |
| understand" or "leave me alone" blurted out from the | | | | caring instead of intrusive. |
| mouth of an otherwise contented adolescent. | | | | Parenting adolescents requires a sense of connection |
| Parenting adolescents is also a struggle on how to | | | | to which the teenager sees as positive and consistent, |
| enforce limits without restricting an adolescent's sense | | | | and illustrates the mentioned approaches. Teenagers |
| of freedom. Many parents are sometimes caught | | | | with healthy relationships between their parents are |
| off-guard with these changes which leave them in a | | | | more likely to be successful at social interactions, |
| battle of their once cuddly little baby turned alien. | | | | possess a higher level of self-esteem, are more |
| Parenting adolescents needs creativity, patience, and | | | | cooperative with other teens and adults, and struggle |
| courage in order to effectively guide a child into | | | | less with depression. |
| adulthood, taking into account instilling values, helping in | | | | When parents encourage psychological autonomy in |
| social relationships, and seeing new ideals, goals, and | | | | their teenagers, they learn to genuinely respect the |
| an emerging independence are better off seen as an | | | | emerging independence that accompanies different |
| adventure rather than a cumbersome task. | | | | ideas and beliefs completely different from their own - |
| Fostering a good parent-adolescent relationship is very | | | | and to express unconditional love are among the |
| important, and parents need to establish a friendly, kind, | | | | ways to help teenagers cope and solve problems with |
| warm, and loving approach to a teenager. Experts | | | | minimal guidance. |
| agreed that parenting adolescents involve three major | | | | Parent-teenager relationship is crucial especially in the |
| areas, which are vital to a good parent-adolescent | | | | adolescent years when a child begins to find his niche |
| relationship - monitoring, connection, and psychological | | | | in the society and learning to cooperate with a diverse |
| autonomy. | | | | community. |
| The practice of monitoring has a role to play for | | | | |