Any parent who has survived their child’s middle school years will assure you that you can successfully navigate them, too. Although the honeymoon period of elementary school is over and middle school comes with ample trials and tribulations for most kids, try not to expect the worst. Parents who welcome the challenges of junior high as opportunities for growth will still be smiling by the time they attend their child’s junior high graduation ceremony.
Parents strive to support children to grow into capable, independent adults. Our children will face many bumps along their journey into adulthood (as we all do), and we want them to be able to manage those troubling times. Part of a parent’s job is to develop resiliency in our teens. One definition of resiliency is “the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” If we want resilient teens, then we need to start building up their resiliency while our kids are still kids.
Take a look at your own listening and communication skills if you want your kids to listen to you.
Is your 14-year-old daughter sneaking out of school early to hang out with her friends at the mall? Is your son staying out late with his friends on school nights without keeping in touch with you? The transition from childhood to adulthood can be a tough time. Psychologists often describe the adolescent teen years as a developmental stage of disorientation and discovery. No longer children but not yet adults, teens wrestle with issues such as autonomy and identity. Parents of adolescents may feel frustrated with how to make sense of this phase in their maturing child’s life. What can parents learn about this time in their child’s life? How can parents help their teen through this stage?
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