Not too long ago, your stepson or stepdaughter was an adorable little child but now he or she is headed full-speed for the teenage years. Teen rebellion starts to raise its obnoxious and irritating head, and you’re not quite sure how to deal with it.
While teen rebellion is virtually inescapable as a parent you can use certain strategies to help you deal with the struggles that comes along with it. These six tips will help you when the inevitable teen rebellion happens.
Know What to Let Slide
If you obsess over every single rebellious action your teenager makes or says, you are going to run yourself into the ground. Attorney Rod Gregory suggests letting some issues fall to the wayside. For example, your teenager wanting to have two earrings in each ear as opposed to one is nowhere near as problematic as your teenager wanting to experiment with drugs. Drug experimentation can lead to life-long addiction which can ultimately lead to serious health risks and even death.
Start Talks Early
When you start to talk to your teenager early about some of the rebellious issues he or she might engage in, you are working to build a fortress around them. Let your teenager know how dangerous certain acts, such as drinking and driving are, and share stories with them about people who were seriously injured or killed in the news. Being specific will help drive the point home and will leave a lasting impression with them throughout their teenage years.
Don’t Let on You Know
Even though you know that what your teenagers are going through is just a phase, you shouldn’t let them know that you know this. Consider what would happen if you told your teenager that he or she was just going through a phase. Your son or daughter would likely rebel even more in an attempt to show you that it’s not just a phase.
Look at Long-Term Consequences
While you may have short-term punishments for certain rebellious behaviors, you also want to teach teenagers about the long-term consequences of their actions. Your teenager might want to get multiple tattoos on the middle of his or her arms. Remind your youngster that obtaining certain jobs may be impossible in the future with such markings.
Enlist Other Family Members
You do generally need to let some behaviors slide, but dangerous and serious problems need to be addressed. Ask your teenager’s older siblings or cousins to help. If these individuals have conversations with your youngsters, your teenagers may be more willing to listen because they view the family member as a peer in many ways.
Know That It Ends
Your teenager might always keep her nose piercing in, or he might get more tattoos in the next few years; however, for most people, the overall sense of rebelliousness does end. Individuals settle into who they are and do not feel such a need to impress others or keep up with their peers.
Make no mistake about it, the rebellious teenage years are some of the most difficult for any parent, but by keeping these tips in-mind, you can survive and maybe even flourish during the rebellious years.
A teen may be rebellious but their behavior must remain respectful to the stepparent and the rest of the family. To treat the stepparent or any other family member disrespectfully weakens the entire family and makes bonding by the stepparent with his stepchildren difficult, if not impossible. Learn more about the essential pieces needed to build a foundation of respect within the blended family by reading, “A Stepfather Gets No Respect.”
