Children Hitting Those Rough Teen Years...Here's How to Get Through

So your children are getting into the teen years. You might get lucky and keep the same loveable child you always had, or you might get that child who goes through the hard teen’s behavior. What is this, not behaving, talking back, sneaking around, maybe drinking and having sex? What can a parent do to try and keep the communication open and flowing? First off it is something that has to begin when they are younger. A relationship and a bond that is trusting between the two of you. With my daughter I was lucky I always had a job that I could bring her. I even brought her to 99% of my DJ jobs I had. I was lucky to never have the boy problems, drinking or sneaking until she was almost seventeen. One of the reasons is that I always made it a point to keep closeness and openness with each other. It’s important that you take the time to keep all eyes on your children; you don’t have to tell them until you see something off and if you’re watching you will and if you have a good relationship and explain they will understand and not rebel. I also didn’t try to act as sex didn’t exist or was something dirty; I kept it real what life was about. People would laugh and say to her “your mom is your best friend” and I would reply “I’d want to be my best friend too, I’m fun, I drive and I pay for everything”. You have to be in your child’s life to know what’s going on. I was always the one that had the kids over to play and hang, the sleep overs and the parties. She felt like she could tell me anything. I listened with open ears and till this day she knows she can tell me anything. She can be a handful now that she is an older but they are who they grow to be. Some grow into strong personality, such as in her case. Some grow to be brilliantly smart young adults but what you will realize is that you are what you make your child 99% of the time. If your child does have a mental disability such as OCD, or Depression then it is a whole different story at another time. But you still need the closeness and trust of the child. This is a must. Barbara Jeanne xo