How to deal with a rebellious teenager
By Robbie White
No matter how you brought up your offspring, whether you are an affluent family from a quiet suburb or whether your teenager has had a difficult upbringing, a rebellious teen can crop up in any family. Maybe there is a deep seated memory of a North American truck, pulling into the driveway preparing to move your family across the country. Whatever the case may be, there is a solution.
Are you a power-happy parent who loves the control of being a mother or father? Or do you have a high powered career which takes up the majority of your time? Either way, your child could be screaming out for your attention. That boyfriend you dislike, the mess of their bedroom, the fact that you just feel like screaming at them when they continually miss school all boil down to one factor – they want to be noticed.
I hear you shout, ‘well, what can I do?’ Simple, give them the attention they deserve after all they are your children. You have to be frank, not just give in by giving them what they want, do something together and try to build a relationship. Try and find a hobby that you can take part in together, when I was younger I was a rebellious teen – always in trouble at school, always breaking things and getting up to mischief around the house.
My dad started taking an interest in my favorite hobby, football; he started taking me to training and watched my games on the weekend. Instantly, we had something to relate to, a thirty year age gap quashed because we are both interested in the same thing.
It’s time to get involved and talk to your teenager about their problems, the reason for their rebellion could be boredom. You have life experience on your side, try to point them in the right direction, you were a teenager once – your honesty and your interest will play huge dividends in the future. If your son or daughter can open up to you, talk to you about their issues, you are half way there – good luck!
Contact Robbie at Robbie465@professionalintern.com at Professional Intern.
Thanks to Robbie for sharing his story!
