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1. Not letting them think for themselves
Teenagers are at a stage where they are learning how to make the right choices for themselves. If you continue to make all the choices for them, they won’t learn on their own. Guiding your child as he deals with emotional issues is one thing, but creating a dependency is a whole different story. Your adolescent is growing into an adult, so introduce him to the mature ways of handling one’s self. Discuss with your child and let him air out his own views as you explain yours. This way, you leave room for him to grow on his own.
2. Overlooking vital signs of a problem
If you begin to notice strange behavior in your teen such as his slacking off or a new peer group, don’t turn the other cheek. Avoiding an issue will not make it disappear, and may even leave it to grow. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
3. Slacking off on enforcing consequences or penalties
It may be easy to form a corresponding penalty to disobedient behavior, but it’s in implementing these consequences where things get tricky. Your unruly teen may react vehemently to the penalty imposed but here is where you’ve got to stick to your guns. Go over the rules distinctly with your child and make sure that he understands the corresponding penalties. Don’t undermine your own authority by showing that even you don’t know who’s boss.
4. Aiming for the Unreachable
It’s important to understand what your teenager is capable of and set goals accordingly. If he is struggling with emotional issues don’t expect him to be making flawless straight A’s every quarter. By adjusting your expectations to coincide with the individual skills of your teen, you are giving him fair ground to start with in reaching these goals.
5. Being overly-critical without showing encouragement
The power of parental encouragement is truly enriching. When you take time to appreciate the good your child is displaying, may it be in school or at home, you are encouraging even more good. On the contrary, if you focus on the negative aspects of your child, you actually make it even harder for him to get out of a negative rut. It may be a natural instinct of most parents to criticize their child when exposed to their misbehaviors, but constant criticism may lead to a degrading self-concept.
6. Looking to the school or another to discuss sensitive issues
When you leave the discussion of sensitive topics, such as substance abuse or sex, to the school, you are taking a risk. But by stepping out of your comfort zone to clearly discuss these topics with your teenager yourself, you are lowering his/her chances of engaging in high-risk behavior.
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