All of us have to grow up, which means we all must experience the dreadful and stressful teenage years. Physical and emotional stress, along with hormonal changes, mark some of the more difficult times that teenagers will have. But that is the way it is all set-up, and we just have to rise to the task so we can help our kids get through it. The teenage years are also wonderful years that will hold many positive and rewarding memories. Adults, later on in life, in retrospect will think of their high school years as being exciting and rewarding times. For others, high school is one of their most awful memories because of certain people that made their lives miserable.
Anytime parents have more than one child, their parenting skills need to be elevated greatly. An important topic to discuss is children being singled out by parents as favorite, or even least favorite. Unfortunately, this is usually part of being human and not something that is easily avoidable.
It is possible to keep a healthy perspective, when you are aware of the possibility. Children need to feel loved and wanted by the parents, and that is the responsibility of a parent. When you are showing favoritism, you are doing damage to each child, even the favorite, so you should try to rectify the problem.
The personality of each of your children has a lot to do with the types of subjects that they will be more or less interested in. If your kids are academically inclined, more than likely it is something that they were born with in regard to their interest level. As they grow older, children will learn to enjoy different topics that they are interested in and some that they will not like many things at all. Once you understand a little bit more about your children and how their personalities are, you can be there to help them along the way. Obviously each child needs to at least understand the value of successfully completing high school. If your kids start to struggle, a great idea would be to get them a tutor so they can successfully complete this goal.
Most parents realize and understand the value of consistency when it comes to enforcing the rules and operating policies in the home. In two parent households quite often one parent has a lot more resolve than the other. Children can be master manipulators in the home when it involves singling out the parent who is known to give in. Many problems could be avoided if the parents could agree, when it comes to the rules, but too often they can’t. We do not advocate giving-in even one time because that just opens the door to future problems.
To take your parenting to the next level, start becoming more active in your child’s life, know what is going on with them at school, and be there to help them get through it all. Solid, mutual and positive communications are essential so possible issues do not escalate.