Most children experience notable mood swings and personality changes during their teenage years, which is why it is important for parents to know how to handle delicate situations involving teens. Luckily, a lot of parenting experts offer advice on how to get through this volatile stage of childhood.
Psychologist Bryan Greeson recently released a few pointers on the Gaston Gazette. The first tip is to become the authoritative figure in your child's life. However, Greeson warns that you should not do this through bullying, but rather through gaining your child's respect.
If a child does not respect his or her parents, the "my way or the highway" dilemma will usually result in the child choosing the highway option. The parents must not let their egos get in the way of disciplining their child. They need to understand that respect is garnered by respecting the other person as well.
His next tip is to treat your child as a friend. A lot of parents grow distant from their child because they believe that their only purpose is to discipline the child. However, this is far off from the truth. You need to have a good relationship with your child.
In fact, healthy families often spend time with each other and this creates a stronger bond between them. This can also be attributed to modern parenting, which tells parents to learn together with their child from the mistakes either may commit.
Greeson's final word of advice is to become the emotional and overbearing parent. Sure, this will annoy your child at one point or another, but afterwards, they will surely appreciate that you treated them this way. Parents who do not look the other way when their child misbehaves usually get the best results. Being overbearing is what is expected of a great mother or father.
