Teen Parenting Consistency
Your teen is upset over something that happened at school. They come home and take it out on you. Your response is to give it right back to them. After all, you’ve had a hard day too. They find out they got a bad grade and they take that out on you too. You give this back to them as well. By hump day, they find out they were accepted to their first choice school and this -they keep to themselves for awhile telling friends and some extended family first. You are not pleased.
The way teen parenting works, you have to be able to handle them at their worst in order to deserve them at their best. Your teen will be reluctant to share the good times with you if you show resistance to their bad times.
Learning to depend on someone places anyone, but especially your teen in a vulnerable position. The trust that needs to develop is based on consistency. This means they should be able to come to you on their worst day, dump all their stuff on you and know that you are able to hear it. Not, give it back to them. This does not teach them about friendship or help build trusting relationships.
When your teen vents to you, let them know you are there for them in bad times and they will sense the sincerity that make you the one to share their bad and good times. Be there, but try to be there consistently.
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