Before you make any mistakes, here are the most common so you can watch out for them when dealing with your teenagers.

There’s No Need to Yell

Yelling is one of the worst things that you can do at any point, but is damaging to your relationship with your teenager. She is learning from you, but still wants respect.

The problem is if you don’t show her respect, she’s not going to show you it. Stop yelling and focus on having a grown up conversation together. Air out your complaints calmly, so you can cover everything.

Listen to Your Teen

Talking is just half of having a conversation. You need to listen too.

She may be younger than you, but that doesn’t mean her feelings and thoughts aren’t valuable. It is possible for teenagers to teach their parents a few things. Listen to her and acknowledge her thoughts and feelings. It shows her respect and that she is a valued member of the family. She’s more likely to listen to you then.

Spend Time With Your Children

Teenagers need to know that you put them before anything else. They don’t want you working all the time, or spending time with your friends instead of them. You need to organise days where it’s all about you and your children.

Take your teenage daughter shopping for a new dress or spend some time with your son at the park playing football. This quality time shows them that you really do care.

Stop Snooping on Their Private Lives

You know how important having a private life is.

You never wanted your parents snooping through your drawers or diary, and the same applies to your teenagers. It’s all about trust and respect. If you go snooping for something, you tell your teenager that you don’t trust her or respect her privacy. By opening up the gates for honesty, she is more likely to tell you when there is a problem.

Don’t Push Her Into Talking

Stop forcing your teenager to talk. If you push her, it’s going to start driving her away. You need to make it clear that she can talk to you whenever she feels ready for it.

Let her know that you’ll drop everything as soon as she is ready to let you into her feelings. Make it clear that you’re not going to judge her and you just want to help in any way you can.

Know the Signs to Look Out For

Your teenager could get into the wrong crowd and do drugs. She could suffer from an eating disorder.

Your teenager is no different from the rest, and you need to accept that. By accepting it, you’re prepared to look out for signs that she’s in trouble so you can help her.

Grandchildren

As your children get older you will get the opportunity to enjoy having grandchildren. Grandchildren are a blessing. You get the opportunity to spoil them, play with them, and then you can take them home. But for some grandparents they don’t get to send them home. Some grandparents finish raising their children and think they are through raising children but due to some sort of unfortunate reason they are raising their grandchildren.

For some grandparents their youngest could be an adult and then they start over. This can be difficult for some but they know that this is the right thing for the child or children. The grandparent realizes that there life is now changed. Some of the grandparents think that with their children all grown they could spend their time doing whatever they would like. Now they have little children that they are responsible for again.

Raising Children Again

Depending on how old the grandchild or grandchildren are will depend on how much care they are going to require. Since grandparents have already raised their own children they know that raising an infant is going to take a lot of time. There is no more sleeping through the night. This can be difficult at first but just like when they had their own children they will get used to it. Watching the infant go through all their milestones will be an exciting time to watch.

When you have toddlers they are a little bit easier. They are learning all the time. It is a fun time to help them learn all that they need to learn. Reading them stories at night, teaching them their ABC’s and how to count is an exciting time for them and the grandparents, as well. The harder years are when they are teenagers.

The teenagers may be the hardest to deal with but they are also the ones that need the most love and attention. They are going through so much at this time in their lives. This age is where they need a lot of guidance and the grandparents need more patience.

No matter what age your grandchild is having them live with you will make it easier for them. They know who their family is and they will know that someone truly cares about them. It’s always important for a child to know they are loved and cared about. It may not be easy all the time but it will be rewarding in the end.

A child’s smile is something that you can’t replace. When a child gives you a smile for something you have done for them or for something you said to them will warm your heart. It will make you realize that the decision you made to take care of them was the right decision.

Broach the Topic Gently, but Frankly

Sit your son down during a quiet time of day and not when there’s a lot going on in the home.

Make sure that he feels comfortable with discussing the topic with you, and even if he feels awkward, assure him that even though you’re a woman, you can answer his questions.

Ask About What He’s Heard or Learned At School

Many times, kids learn about puberty from their more experienced friends or through sex education at school. While this might pave the way for you, finding out what he already knows will allow you to fill in the gaps and correct any misinformation he might have gotten about the process.

Remind him that he should never take any information he gets from his friends as being correct, and that he can always ask you.

Remind Him That Everybody is Different

Your son may be dismayed that he’s developing more slowly than other boys in his class. Some may already have pubic hair or their voices have already changed.

It’s important to let him know that everyone develops at his own speed, and the changes he sees in his friends will eventually happen to him as well.

Discuss Respecting Women

Now that your son is entering puberty, it’s time to talk to him about being respectful of women. As he gets older and starts to become interested in girls, it’s important that he approaches them with respect.

Let him know that what he might see in movies or hear in song lyrics has nothing to do with how women should be treated in reality. Discuss how women should be treated as equal human beings first and the opposite sex second.

Talk About Hygiene

In the past, when your little guy got dirty, you probably just plunked him down in the tub. Now that he’s entering puberty, however, he’s going to no doubt want more privacy.

Remind him that he should start showering on a daily basis and buy him deodorant and his own body wash.

Enlist Male Help

Some puberty topics may be beyond your scope of experience completely, so don’t forget to ask a trusted uncle or friend to discuss these topics with your son.

He may feel more comfortable and be more apt to ask questions. Let him know that you won’t press for details after.

Buy books or Use the Web

To help your son further understand puberty, you can buy books for him or even have him read some age-appropriate websites that will help him answer any questions he might be too embarrassed to ask.

Don’t push to discuss the resources, and chances are he will come to you first.

Don’t Wait for the Talk

Don’t wait until your daughter gets her first period to actually discuss it. This might cause her to panic when she first starts to menstruate, which could cause emotional upset.

Talk to her well before it happens; most girls ages eleven and older are ready to hear about their first period.

Don’t Assume Her School Will Handle It

Never assume that your daughter’s school will teach her about her first period. While many schools do teach sex education, this doesn’t mean that they will answer all her questions or have a comprehensive program.

If your daughter brings home a permission slip that you must sign in order for her to take part in a sex education program, call the school to ask what it is included in the program so that you can fill in the gaps.

Let Her Ask Questions

While it’s never easy to discuss menstruation casually, make sure that your daughter knows that she can ask questions. American culture still places a great deal of taboo on a woman’s period, and your daughter might feel that she’s not supposed to talk about it.

Encourage her to ask questions about the signs and symptoms, and do a little research online for the questions you may not have the answers to.

Respect Her Privacy

When your daughter gets her first period, as her mother, you might want to share the news with friends and family because you feel it’s not a shameful thing.

However, it might embarrass her if you make a bunch of phone calls to her aunts and your female friends to share the news. Keep it to yourself to show her that you respect her privacy as a young woman.

Talk About Feminine Products

While it’s recommended that young girls on their first period should avoid tampons, let your daughter know about her protection options.

Show her how to use a sanitary pad and have a frank discussion about hygiene and how to stay clean during her time of the month. If she’s willing, take her shopping so that she can pick out the brand she wants to use.

Talk About Her Feelings, Not Your Experiences

Your daughter may experience a number of emotions when she starts her first period – apprehension, fear, or even a sense that she’s not a child anymore.

Let her talk about her feelings and assure her that everything she feels is completely normal. Let her feelings be her own and don’t discount them as part of the experience that “everyone” has.

Remind Her That You’re There to Listen

Your daughter may have questions about her period later on, so remind her once in a while that you’re there to listen and answer questions.

Even if she doesn’t open up then, she may want to later, and it’s important for her to know that her mother will always be there to listen.

Image vs. Reality

Look through magazines and images online and discuss what she sees vs. what the reality might be. Talk about how some pictures are altered with photo editing software and airbrushing. Explain that the women she might see don’t look anything like they might in reality.

Talk About the Importance of Liking Herself

Talk about how self-esteem will not only open doors to new opportunities but also help her avoid the pitfalls of peer pressure. The more self-esteem your daughter has, the less likely it is that she’ll engage in risky behaviors simply to try and fit in. Let your daughter know that she has to like herself before anyone else can like her.

Focus on Small Achievements

While not every achievement needs a large celebration, a good grade in a weak subject, having the courage to join a team, or achieving a goal is cause for praise. The more your daughter sees that she can accomplish short-term goals, the more likely she will try and set long-term ones. Encourage her, especially if the goals are difficult, but let her set her own pace.

Talk About Body Image

No matter your daughter’s shape, encourage her to celebrate herself for who she is. If there are weight issues, discuss health, not image or appearance. Promote healthy eating at home and avoid having fashion magazines around the home if your daughter has issues with seeing her body in a positive light.

Embrace Womanhood

Teach your daughter to embrace being a female. Talk about other females in a positive light, and not just about how they look. Discuss positive female role models in your daughter’s life and why she looks up to them. Help her discover her own history in your family as a female.

Discuss the Importance of Individuality

Help your daughter understand the importance of being an individual. While peer pressure and the importance of looking good will are a challenge, try and encourage her individual talents. Explain how important they will be to her not only now, but in the years to come. Emphasize the importance of maintaining individuality in any situation. Let her know that while it’s okay to go along with the crowd in some situations, she should always speak up for herself as well.

Help Her Find Her Voice

Encourage your daughter to speak out and make her own needs known in any social situation. Tell her to ask for help in school when she needs it and to speak up when she thinks something is unjust. The more you encourage your daughter to voice her feelings, the more assertive and self-confident she will become.

Discuss the Magazines, Advertisements and Shows

Take the time to talk about the figures of women in the magazines and advertisements. Explain that it is a company’s idea but that men actually love curves.

This is also the time to find out how your daughter is reacting to these pictures. Does she want to be like that? Not all teenagers are phased by it so don’t instantly jump to that conclusion!

Discuss Being Healthy

The best thing for your daughter is to be healthy. Encourage her to eat three balanced meals a day and enjoy snacks.

You can start this by eating as a family and cooking good meals that are healthy and nutritious for you all.

Talk to her about how food is needed by the body and how it breaks it down. There is plenty of help online for this.

Talk to Them About Their Friends

Some of the pressure doesn’t actually come from the TV and magazines; it’s from friends. Talk to your daughter about their friends and what they believe.

Don’t ban them from these friends but make sure you have a conversation about a healthy body and what not eating can do to it. This is also the time to find out about other social pressures come from friends.

Encourage Them to Join in with Activities

Encourage your daughter to join in with activities and hobbies. These don’t have to be physically based; they could be academically based or just something for fun.

By enjoying her teenage years, she is less likely to focus on many of the social pressures and try to be as thin as possible.

Take Her Clothes Shopping

Help your daughter dress for her size and figure so she looks good. If you’re not that good at this, find out more about the different figures and work on the type of clothes that will look good.

Not only will this activity be good for her self-esteem, it will be good for your relationship together.

Watch for Any Signs

Keep an eye out for any signs that she is suffering from an eating disorder. Don’t be obvious or obsessed with this.

Simple tips include having a meal as a family to make sure she eats the majority of it and sharing healthy snacks between meals.

Talk to Her If You Suspect Anything

The earlier you catch an eating disorder, the better it will be to handle. However, you will need to approach her with sensitivity. Don’t accuse her of starving herself to be thin.

Explain that you’re worried and that if she wants to talk you are here. She is more likely to be receptive to the help.

Not only are women attempting to consider themselves to be friends of their children, over parents of their children, but many parents are now condoning behavior that had typically been considered inappropriate. The results of such misconstrued boundaries?

Children are now entering adulthood with an unfortunate perspective that they not only are overly important, have some unfortunate sense of deserving what they have not yet worked for, and that they can make life altering mistakes that their parents, and mothers, to be more specific, will help them fix and manage. The issues are clearly detrimental to the later portion of the lives of these children, yet many facets of American culture and media have allowed for such disheveled views to become the norm.

MTV has been no stranger to the idea of teenage pregnancy, with such shows as “Sixteen and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”. Unfortunately, these shows are glorifying the idea that a young woman can get pregnant, have no money or stability, is unlikely to have the support of the child’s father, but that their parents will assist them not only financially, but in caring for this following generation.

There is a characteristic that many of the guests that are on this show have in common, though, which is that they never established boundaries with their children, boys or girls, so that teenage pregnancy could be avoided.

While many teenagers have certainly proven throughout history that despite parental boundaries, they are going to do whatever they feel as though they want to do, but there is a current uproar in the number of teenage pregnancies, likely due to the misinformation and lack of boundaries by the parents of the teenagers.

In addition, children are now growing up with an unnatural sense of entitlement, which is proving to be disastrous when they enter the work force. When interviewing company executives who may be responsible for the hiring of new employees, it is not surprising to find that many executives are hesitant to hire the younger generations who are now entering the job market, despite the credentials and qualifications.

The reasoning being, as reported, that these younger individuals have no value on hard work and putting in the necessary amount of effort to be a success within an industry. Children these days are being coddled to the point that they believe that the world owes them something, despite all of the hard work that even their parents have put forth to gain whatever assets they may have.

The reality of the situation is hard to believe, but incredibly accurate when researched. Children are not being raised with appropriate boundaries that are going to set them on the right path to success after they enter the adult world. Parents need to begin making a valiant effort to supply their children with these boundaries, not only to ensure their success, but to ensure that the parents are not forced to manage the mishaps that may be created by their children.