Things That May Push Your Teenager Away

While there is no right or wrong way to parent, there are some things that parents do that tend to push their teens away.  These include:


1. Yelling and Screaming. This is often a natural reaction to situations your teenager may create, however, is generally not helpful and can quickly cause them to view you as the “bad guy” and resent you.

2. Saying you were right and they were wrong. Teens typically respond very poorly to this type of comment or lecture.  As a parent, there will be many situations where you tell your teen what to do and they will chose not to listen to you which resulted in a negative outcome.  This is normal and it is important that you try to trust that they will learn from thier mistakes more than they will from having you remind them that they were wrong.

3. Giving extreme consequences. Teenagers will become resentful if the consequences you give them are extreme in an effort to make a point. For example, if Susie returns 30 minutes late with the car an extreme consequence may be that she cannot drive the car for 6 months. The point will get lost in the outrageousness of the consequence. When giving consequences to teenagers, the consequences should be meaningful and time limited.


Go to Elite Life Coaching for additional parenting resources, to sign up for our newsletter and to get information on our coaching packages and specials!