As a parent, you want to guide your teenager towards a positive, independent and happy pathway in life. You want them to have the freedom to be who they want to be as a person, whilst maintaining a sense of closeness to you as their parent. It’s a very fine line to draw, between being overbearing and too lenient with your teenager as they navigate life. So, how can you set them up to be the best they can possibly be? Building healthy relationships with your teenagers will help you to keep open lines of communication so they feel comfortable coming to you with any problems. If you are wondering what steps you can take right now, here are a handful of tips that you might find useful.
Be Supportive When They Make Mistakes
Teenagers are inevitably going to make mistakes in life, but you still need to show your support and love them unconditionally. If you degrade them or make them feel bad about themselves when they mess up, they may not feel comfortable coming to you next time. Let’s say they try smoking in the house for the first time and you’re angrier than words could even imagine. You could look into some candles for smokers to eliminate the smell, and then talk openly about how damaging smoking can be to your health. Once they have a clear understanding of their mistake, they are less likely to make it again.
Lead By Example
Like it or not, your children may grow into a version of yourself one day. This means they may start to emulate your behavior, language, career and hobbies at some point. If you want your teenager to grow up to be a well-rounding young person, you need to lead by example and show them what it means to be a mature adult. Hopefully, they will see your behavior and actions as positive and will follow the right path in their life.
Allow Them to Express Themselves
Suppressing your child’s true personality will only cause them to rebel against you at some point in their life. The way your teenager chooses how to dress and present themselves can have a huge impact on their overall confidence and identity. Of course, teenagers can go through phases, but this is how they learn, develop and grow into their own person. Allowing them to express themselves and follow their own ambitions is the best way to support a young person towards a thoroughly positive pathway in their life.
Always Listen
Although you may feel like shouting, yelling and giving out to your teenager, you may want to use this opportunity to step back and listen. It is so important to be an active listener as a parent, because this helps your teenager feel heard and understood. They are going through a lot as they grow and develop, so it’s important to hear their problems and value their opinions on important life topics.
Hopefully, all of the ideas mentioned above will give you a good head start when it comes to setting up your teenager for a positive start in their life.