Is Your Teen Beyond Your Control?

When you are the parent of a teenager it is all to easy to feel as though your
teenager is beyond your control, if that's the case then you are not alone - most parents feel this way at some time. It is all too easy to forget what it was like to be fourteen or fifteen and sometimes a little help can go a long way - as someone who has brought up six children I am well aware how just a little help goes a long way.

Getting Back in Control

Getting back in control doesn't mean more rules or stricter enforcement of existing ones, it means controlling yourself and your own reactions. If you go over the top every time your teen does something you don't like then you are doomed to failure. It is well worth reading some of the great books out there on
dealing with teens
as they contain valuable advice.

Try to deal calmly with your teenager; then they will be calmer and you will feel a lot more in control of the situation. If your teenager acts as though manners were never invented, don't say too much, just make sure that your manners towards your errant son or daughter are impeccable. It's a lot easier to maintain both your temper and your control if situations are dealt with in a quiet way.

Is Your Teen's Attention Going Up In A Puff of Smoke?

There is a lot of talk these days, and some scientific evidence to suggest that smoking cigarettes is bad for you - and I have to agree. However, some research evidence suggests to a link between behavior and smoking, especially among teenagers.

Because I am by profession a social researcher I tend to place little trust in research findings as reported by the media. Generally speaking what you get from the media's reporting of research are decontextualized results - that is to say that very often there is little or no information on the size of the sample or the questions asked - this makes the reported figures questionable to someone like me. The claim that nicotine can affect your teenagers concentration may be a valid one but before you decide that your fourteen year old is spending time behind the bike sheds sending their attention up in a puff of smoke; try to get hold of the actual research report rather than the media's presentation of the findings.