What Are The Necessities of A Teenager

A Teenager or teen is someone who aged between 13 and 19 years old.

During that stage, they change emotionally and physically. They are told to act

more mature but at the same time they feel like they are treated like kids.

The truth is that being a teenager is not at all easy. They often have strong desire to be independent and do things their way. They just want to enjoy their life without any stress and responsibilities. But today it is not easy. They are stressed due to their parent’s unnecessary pressures. Undoubtedly, they are facing many challenges and parents need to make it easier not worse.

What parents need to understand: First and most important thing they need is

respect. As they are growing, they also want respect from their siblings,

teachers and parents. Instead of putting decisions on them parents need to

give them a chance to listen their choices. It might be different from you, but

acknowledging and respecting their choices will boost their self-confidence.

Give them authority:  Allow your child to make some decisions themselves and at the same time keep an eye on them.

If they do mistakes don’t criticise their mistakes, let them realise and then talk to them about what they did wrong. Give your teen opportunities for that. Set fixed number of rules for the things that they have to do with safety, don’t go overboard and restrict them too much. Allow them to learn from their own mistakes as long as they are safe even if their way of doing it might be different from yours. You have been through it so you know how confusing and challenging it can be. Tell them that you understand because it happened to you. Relating to them will reassure them of what they are going through, knowing they are not alone.

Teenagers need extra love and care. Most importantly, they need extra care

And love during this time. Though they like being independent, they need your

support too. Helping your teen with love and care will give them a sense of

positive identity. There should be friendly atmosphere so they will feel safe to

share everything they want with you.

Motivational support:  Encouragement, guidance and support are very

important for teens. You are a source of care, emotional support and safety for

your child, as well as practical and financial help. You should motivate your

teens for their education as well as their area of interest. It can be their hobby

or anything. Share your life experiences with them. It can be useful and interesting to them. Appreciate them in every simple task they do. It will bring positive vibes

in them. Parents need to praise positive behaviours and talk about the upsetting things. Treat them fairly and develop a trusting relationship.

Your attention: Though your teens like to be independent, they

need your attention to. They feel alone sometimes and want to share their

feelings with someone. However busy you are at least find time to sit along

with your teens each night and ask them about their daily activities. Likewise,

they will also start taking interest in your field of work. Have one day fixed in a

week to just hang out with them and do activities you both enjoy together.

Today teen’s life is complicated and stressful, don’t make it worse.

They need your attention, time and guidance.

Sometimes giving them attention can just mean listening to them without interrupting or giving your opinions.

Family time: Spending time with them, even just setting aside a few hours of your day to talk to them or do something they enjoy doing with them makes a huge difference.  Spend a good amount of  time with your teens. Spend weekends together.

Enjoy playing games with them or do any activity that they like. Go for family

outings together. Entertain them as much as possible. Encourage them in

doing things they like.

Respect privacy: It’s important to your kids developing sense of independence

to have some privacy, but they should know the difference between privacy

and secrecy. They must have the rights to talk with their friends privately, to

have their alone time or to keep a diary. Don’t snoop around trying to get to know about them, instead talk to them. Always let them have alone private time in their room without bothering them because at times, alone time can fix many issues and everyone enjoys some quiet alone time. If they prefer to talk, communicate with your teens openly so that you can talk about their relationships without judging them.

Common problems teenagers face:-

Self Esteem, Body image, Depression, Stress, Bullying, Cyberbullying, Addiction, Cyber addiction, etc.

How to deal with their behaviour: –Teenagers’ behaviour can be baffling, stressful, hurtful and often worrying. But in most cases, it does not mean it’s serious, it’s common as they are going through the natural process of becoming an adult. Many of these behaviour issues that parents may find hard to deal with is an essential part of puberty and growing up. Surges of hormones, combined with body changes, pressure from people and a developing sense of independence, just mean that the teenage years are a confusing time for them.

In situations like that, try to step back from it and remember your child may have physiological reasons of behaving in ways that can be difficult to live with. It’s the adults responsibility to help them in this time and to make them feel better, developing a trusting and healthy relationship with them. Making sure they don’t feel like they are alone in this dilemma.

Teenagers nowadays are different : – Due to the rise in use of social media, which is very common in teenagers they have different almost unrealistic expectations. Spending more time online takes a hit on their mental health and gives them unrealistic expectations about things like happiness, body image etc, whereas reality is far more complicated. Some being exposed to social media too soon transforms their thinking and look at life. Making sure they have less screen time and more in person relationships would teach them not only empathy and respect but also how to engage with people in real life and not risk raising unprepared teens to the adult world. Making sure their expectations aren’t too unrealistic and making them face the world and the harshness of the world which is far Forman screen as they have no screen to hide behind in the real world.

Expect Rejection: –  Your teen may often respond to your attempts to connect with anger, irritation, or other negative reactions. Stay relaxed and allow your teen space to cool off. Try again later when you both have a calm and collected mind. Successfully connecting to your teen will take time and effort from the

both of you. Many actions taken by you might not come off how they were supposed to and they might misjudge and get the wrong idea and sometimes even feel as though they aren’t important to you or they don’t matter to you anymore.

Communication is key in any relationship but especially a parent child relationship.