Just like any other responsibility, one of our biggest duties is raising children in the right manner by Be a Great Parent so they can turn out to be positive for not only parents but also for society. 

Every age of children defines a certain story of your life, which is why it is necessary to make the right decisions in every single era of their lives when they are dependent on you. 

One of the toughest parts of raising a child is the teenage years. Since this is the prime growing age, your teens can experience an intense period of emotional, physical, intellectual, and growth changes. 

Despite all these factors, it is not very difficult to have a great relationship with your teenager even when they are feeling rebellious. All you need to do is to be a bit thoughtful and constructive to keep things together. So, here are some of the greatest tips you can use to become an ideal parent to your teenager.

Encourage Good Self Care- Be a Great Parent

The teen years are the prime era of your child’s life, and things can turn completely upside down if not communicated correctly. This is why you have to be very careful while handling your child so that they can be directed on the right path. 

You would need to remember that you do not have to shove your decisions to them and teach them things without having them feel too overwhelmed by your presence. You can also guide them to take care of their well being properly. 

For example, you can encourage them to have a proper sleep schedule where they are resting for at least nine hours, as well as keep a good and healthy diet. Similarly, too much screen time can also be bad for their mental health, so you can restrict them to only a limited time of these hours in a day. 

Give Them “The Talk”

Teenage is a part of everyone’s life when they get to experience new emotions and love experimenting with different activities, which is why it is very sensitive for you to communicate properly to your child about the risks and dangers involved. 

It is certainly today’s unfortunate reality that kids are starting to practise unsafe sex and getting indulge in activities like drugs, which is causing unwanted or early pregnancies and other developmental and mental health issues. 

For this very reason, it is very important for you as a parent to stop shying away and instead of hiding things, try to have “the talk” with your child where you tell them about the importance of safe sex, contraception, and disadvantages of drugs to protect them from any future issues. 

Don’t Be Overly Protective 

While it is good to keep an eye on your child and what kind of activities they have been taking part in, it is never a great idea to go too overboard that he starts to feel strangled around you and your teachings. Protect them but don’t take away their freedom; it’s their right to enjoy life but in a safe manner. 

This means that you need to stop overreacting to their mistakes and punishing them before even listening or connecting to what they are trying to describe. Along with that, try not to wander all over their personal space. 

This might be a little tricky task to handle, but you need to identify the right steps to convince them to amend for their own mistakes without having to feel too much pressure. 

Try to Be Their Friend

Teens mostly crave the security of actually knowing that their parents understand what they are going through so that they can feel appreciated and loved no matter what, which is why you would want your relationship with your child more like a friendship. 

So, try to be close to your child in a way that they feel they have the independence to share their feelings without the fear of getting judged or punished for what they did or shared. This will develop a sense of trust amongst you and will help you to guide your child in the right direction. 

Although it is tricky to handle when to react to their illicit activities, it is better to randomly talk to them on a regular basis and share your experiences with them so that they know who to go to when they are in trouble instead of doing something idiotic.

Set Family Meetings 

Another one of the many ways to teach your teenager about the importance of family in their life is by holding regular meetings at a time when all of you are available. For this, you can try to eat at least one meal together in a day. 

Gathering around the dining table and enjoying your meal while having a random discussion about what is going on in your family member’s life will help your teenager to discuss their issues and general things in their everyday activities. 

If your teenager is resistant to join the family get-togethers and meetings, you can also try to add incentives with these meetings, such as dessert after a meal or post-meeting pizza, or you can also assign them important duties so that they can find a way to be there. 

Respect Their Views- Be a Great Parent

One of the most common mistakes that most parents make during the teenage time of their child is that they do not let them speak about their own views and keep schooling them about all the traditional rights and wrongs. 

This can make your child irritable and make them feel unheard, which can lead them to indulge themselves into bad activities. This means that just like you, you also need to understand the importance of the mental health of your child. 

For this, you can be thoughtful when listening to them and try to respect their perspectives and views even when you think that they are not making much sense. You can later on try to talk to them using the indirect approach so that they do not feel too attacked by you.