Changing Your Teen Behaviors
How do I get my teen to stop …? How do I get my teen to start…? How do I get my teen to change…? All great questions and all good reasons to search for answers, especially since how you get anyone to do anything can seem like a mystery most times.
The truth, you can’t get anyone to do anything they don’t want to. Oh, you can try. You should try, but honestly it takes more than scare tactics, deprivation or threatening to make someone change behavior. Often times, it takes inspiration. You can inspire people to make a change, you can’t make them change.
Well, how do you do that Ms. Smarty Pants?
This is another great question. You start by being someone that acts with integrity and is true to your authentic self. You have to be true and this does not mean perfect. It simply means that you have to be a person of integrity. When you make a mistake you can admit it. When you have the upper hand you don’t exploit it. When you see someone in a weak position, you give them a hand up.
When watching your behavior and seeing the outcome, if your behavior is one of integrity you can inspire your teen to consider change, attempt a change, persistently change and then have changed. Your teen is inclined to stick to that change and believe they can do it..to want to do it this way.
Be the change you wish to see in the world and your teen.
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2 Responses Leave a comment
I have/had two amazing teenage boys, now 20 & 14. I found the best way to get them to do anything was either to make it a competition, give them an incentive or reward or sense of achievement, treat them with respect and a postive attitude and even use reverse psychology. As the saying goes ‘If you always do what what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’. The only person you can change is yourself!
Having had an abusive childhood I know what works and what doesn’t.
Childhood is way too short and I believe in allowing kids to be kids. Lead by example and be kind, understanding and flexible… we all have faults and have made mistakes, let them learn by theirs.
Wow! That was better than the post.