Peer pressure is just one of the many factors that influence teen children and cause them to behave erratically. Learn about the burdens that we place on teens in the modern world and the best way to approach any issues that may arise.
Heartache. Love. Obsession. Depression. Lies. Rule-Breaking. Dating. Smoking. Alcohol. Drugs. Fighting. Sex. Stealing. Rebellion. The list sounds like topics in a tacky television show,
but the reality is these are some of the big problems that a parent of a teen could be confronted with at some point. If parents are fortunate enough to avoid these troubling issues with their teen, then you can bet that they've spent many, many hours worrying about the possibility of having to deal with them.
Why my child? Probably because he is a typical teen.
You aren't a bad parent. You haven't necessarily done anything wrong. You aren't to blame for letting him go "off the rails." Sometimes teens just get into in bad situations. Situations that we, presuming that our mature heads are screwed on the right way, would be able to avoid. Teens usually have a long way to go before their brains can make the kind of rational and logical decisions that adults do, but still we expect them to make correct and sensible choices.
Most teens face monumental amounts of pressure to conform and to be successful, and their mostly immature minds simply cannot cope. They need a release, they need an outlet to let off steam, to relieve some of that pressure. Sports, a healthy variety of other activities, and a good network of friends help a lot, but you can bet that your teen child has a few things he would rather his parents did not know about.
Kids have to grow up faster than ever because we force them to. We thrust our children into heavy educational situations with massive pressure on them to achieve and succeed. We pack their young brains full of our own insecurities and tell them to work as hard as possible to secure their future. We heap responsibility onto their shoulders without ever teaching them how to deal effectively with it. We criticize their taste in music and clothes, in friends and films. We frown on their worrying actions but expect them to do as we say instead of leading them by our own good examples. Is it any wonder that so many of these living, breathing, and feeling bundles of extreme bodily change feel like failures? Our expectations for our children are very high indeed, but we set the bar so high that most of them are doomed to fail. While this is a sweeping generalization that paints a dire picture of the standards of modern parenting, most parents will admit that some of the issues apply to their situation.
It may be considered normal troublesome teen behavior to some parents, but the potentially darker sides of teen life can be avoided with a healthy dose of education and a pinch of good luck. Even if you remember what it was like to be a teenager yourself it doesn't mean you know much about what being a modern teen is like. Different times bring different issues, and no modern age group has a tougher time than children between 13 and 17 They've reached their teens! No longer a child but a long way from being an adult. Their bodies are changing, their outlook and their priorities are changing, and the world around them is a place filled with chaos. Home is the safety blanket for them, with the adults in their life a constant form of support and sound advice, right?
You are never too busy to learn something this important
We're busy people, but are we too busy to educate ourselves to know what our youthful loved ones are going through? If you know in advance what the best way is to face a serious teen problem then you will be able help your teen get through it and beyond it. There is a whole range of good, solid advice out there that is easy to get access to. Know the signs, look for the signs, act on the signs. From the emotional turmoil of a simple crush to the terrifying depths of drug addiction, teens need their parents to be well-equipped and fully able to help.
