Most parents can feel rather fearful of facing the dreaded teenage stage. As this stage is saddled with hormonal behaviour, erratic mood swings and a real tendency for rebellion there really is no wonder this stage of bringing up children is often riddled with anxiety. Your children getting mixed up with drugs and alcohol is obviously one of the biggest worries about this stage of adolescence so if you are heading towards this chapter with your children then read on for our essential tips on how to keep your kids away from the temptation of dangerous experimentation.
Be There
Just making yourself available, at what can be an extremely difficult and confusing time in a child’s life, is absolutely the most important thing that you can do. This transitionary period that teenage children are going through can be an isolating time for kids, with all the changing hormones so it is really important that as parents you are making yourselves a safe and consistent support network.
Teenagers usually react much better to advise and are much more open to parental guidance, when they look for it themselves. Teenagers can be overwhelmed by being constantly bombarded with advice, guidelines and restrictions, endless rules and of course, as they see it, continual nagging.
Therefore many parents, dealing with teenagers have found that a calmer approach to teenage behaviour can be rewarded by teenagers being more open and honest as a result. Because parents are acting calmers, teenagers feel safer to confide in them so make sure you give them their time to discuss the issues that are on their mind.
Giving your teenage children time and space to learn from their own mistakes will allow them to feel that they are making their own rules and establishing their own routines (within reason). This will then let them feel that they are entering into an adult relationship with you, which works to motivate and encourage them to act more responsibly and maturely.
Alcohol & Drugs
We all need to face facts that most teenagers are going to experiment with alcohol at some point in their adolescent. Therefore it is less about complete prevention and more about educating them. Teaching your children how to approach alcohol in a responsible way can help to prevent problems, dangerous situations and even, the worst case scenario the need for a quality team of defense lawyers if your child ever ends up in a drink or drug related situation or accident..
A tried and tested way to try and prevent children from going down the wrong avenue when it comes to drugs and alchohol is to encourage them to spend their time doing other things. Children will always want to do the things that they are told they can’t do, so instead of telling them what they can’t do, distract them with other more interesting things they can do to stay active and interested in other hobbies and interests. Be active with your kids and offer ideas of fantastic things they can do with their friends and even offer to be their taxi service to make it even easier for them to stay on track and enjoy the right things.
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