5 Tips To Enjoy Your Children’s Adolescence

Enjoying your children’s adolescence is not an impossible mission, as many believe. You can take all the physical and behavioral changes of adolescents in a friendly way if you prepare for it. That’s right, you too must prepare yourself to live such an important stage in the life of any human being.

During adolescence, all the things that your child was already familiar with are transformed. They see the world in a different way and in the face of the unknown they react with prevention and hostility, in some cases. These are some of the measures you can put into practice to get the most out of this moment in life.

Remember that you are the adult. As a parent, your duty is to help your child to be independent. It is much more comfortable to be a friend and an accomplice but it is not what they really need. A teenager needs more from your guidance, your recommendations and lessons than from your friendship.

How to enjoy adolescence with your children?

1. Remain calm in adverse situations

No problem in life is better solved when stress dominates. The healthiest thing for you and your teenagers is to take a step to the side, breathe deeply and talk. As an adult, you need to act rationally and calmly.

2. Talk less and listen a little more

All human beings seek to be listened to with respect, especially adolescents. Be the type of person who is always willing to listen to problems and give advice when needed. This does not mean that you should agree on everything, you just have to listen without interrupting and bring out your conflict resolution skills.

3. Respect the limits

One of the biggest challenges for parents of a teenager is respecting boundaries. As children grow, so does their need for privacy and autonomy. In order for them to develop their capacity for discernment, they require many opportunities and many mistakes from which they will draw life lessons.

4. Plan family activities that suit everyone.

An outing to eat, cook together, or a bike ride are ideal moments to share and relax. Put the condition of not using cell phones or computers during family time unless it is essential. Family time is a priceless treasure.

5. Acknowledge your mistakes

As a parent, you always want to be a role model, but a good example is not just trying to be “blameless” but also recognizing your own mistakes. You are human and as such you have the right to be wrong and the duty to apologize. Show your children that like them you are in a constant learning process and that you can help them through your experience.

Some ideas to put into practice

• Try to have a good relationship with their friends. Get to know them and allow them to visit your home. This way you will know who they are interacting with and have an additional topic of conversation.

• Share some of your hobbies or interests. Be it art, sports or technology, an activity that motivates them is the perfect excuse to share more and enjoy your children’s adolescence.
• Always ask them how their day was and tell them about yours. The smallest details make the difference and open the door to trust and dialogue.
• Never go to sleep without saying good night. Take advantage of those minutes before bed to see if there is something that worries or saddens them.
• Share family stories and things you did when you were younger. Family history makes them feel included and important within the team.
• Make sure the whole family is together at mealtime.

As you can see, it is small actions that make the difference to cope healthily with the adolescence stage in your children. Although there is inevitably confrontation at times, your home does not have to become a battlefield. Make dialogue, teamwork, positive discipline and understanding your best allies.