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Join Dave and Bill today in The CyberHood as we share an hour with Dr. John Duffy talking about teens, relationships, awareness & communication and especially consequences!
Parents of tweens and teens know all too well that adolescents often feel unheard and misunderstood—and if they don’t, they’ll know soon enough. Parents can feel bewildered by the changes in their children and their sudden lack of effectiveness as parents, and some parents today have a tendency to over-parent, micro-manage, and under-appreciate their teens.
The parent becomes unavailable, and the teen responds in kind, and a negative communication cycle has begun. Dr. John Duffy suggests parents work on being available parents to their teens, and that means more than simply being available for a hug; in fact, it’s possible for someone to be physically next to another person and still be unavailable. Duffy suggests that the “available parent” is a parent who is open to discussion, offering advice, and problem solving, but not insistent.
Children are allowed to make some mistakes, and set some of their own limits. An available parent is a guide who is there for his/her children, and approaches the relationship with an attitude of optimism, not fear.
The Available Parent: Handling Difficult Situations, When Teens Have To Face Their Consequences