Teenagers Want Parents Who Set Rules

The best parenting: firm with rules and open emotionally It happens, but very rarely. A sensitive and intelligent teenager articulates what most teenagers are can’t, “I want my parents to be strict with me.” I often witness a big irony when it comes to parenting teenagers: if you give them everything they want, they will resent you for it. Because in giving them everything they want, you’re not giving them what they need. Teenagers need consistent rules, they need you to be firm, and they need to be frustrated by healthy limits to prepare them for the real world. For many teenagers, getting everything they want creates a sense of lack of preparedness and fear that they won’t be able to succeed in life.

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Parent’s Guide to Rewarding and Punishing Teenagers

Parents are often curious about what I think about their way of disciplining their teenagers. They often want to know if they are doing something wrong, especially if they feel that what they are doing is not working. As a teen counselor, here’s how I like to think about punishments and rewards. There are three basic behavioral rules to keep in mind when disciplining a teenager...

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