Written by: Anali Velez
“That’s it you are no longer allowed to date your boyfriend!” said the angry mother to her 16 year old.
“Ummm excuse me, can i just be honest and tell you she is just going to do it behind your back?”
Instead of that mother punching me in the face and leaving, she heard me out. Together we came up with some alternative ways for her to be stern with her daughter, yet realistic.
Here are some things that I have noticed help in situations like these with teenagers.
Listen
Look I hear you, you are upset and your teen messed up, but nobody likes to be interrupted. Sometimes if you just listen, they will tell you what was really going on. Like they decided to vape because they were feeling sad recently and wanted a way out.
Let it be
You can’t go back in time, so let’s not try to change things. Instead, let's learn from this situation and move on. This teaches them forgiveness for themselves and others.
Be stern
This one kind of goes hand in hand with number 2. Just because you are telling your teen that life goes on, doesn’t mean they are getting out of consequences. Stand your ground. “Since you did X, then that means Y”. Don’t let them sweet talk themselves out of things, even if they are remorseful. They must learn that actions have consequences.
And If you are wondering what happened to that young lady, well mother decided to let her stay with the boyfriend but have supervised visits at her home with parents around.
Student also brought her grades up and graduated on time.
To all you parents to teens, may the odds be forever in your favor, and remember to just ride the adolescent waves.
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