(888) 576-3999How to Address Normal Teenage Behavioral Problems Part Two
In the first half of our discussion on normal teenage behavioral problems we talked about drugs, alcohol, sex and social media/phone use. It’s no secret that teenagers aren’t always easy to work with. Parenthood is full of uncertainty and wondering if you’re doing the right thing. The fact that you are here reading this means you care about course correcting or approaching your child about common issues. One of your main goals as a parent is to have a trusting and close relationship with your child. This also means that you are likely to face many different issues in your child’s teenage years. Learning the most common behavioral issues can help you be prepared for them and teach you how to deal. Insight program doesn’t only assist dealing with teenage behavior,we also provide assistance to parents through our family counseling and parent education programs.
One teenage behavioral problem that you most definitely going to deal with is mood swings. Boy or girl alike your teens are dealing with hormonal changes and with that comes moodiness. Most anything set them off and lead to huffiness, stomping away and slammed doors. You likely hear about how unfair you are, your how lame or even how much they hate you. Mood swings can sometimes indicate depression but being able to differentiate between regular old mood swings and depression depends on the things like the duration and severity of these problems. As for how to handle these mood swings, steer clean of trivializing your child’s problems. Yes, they have a roof over their head, you probably bust your butt putting food on the table, clothing them and ensuring their happiness. Despite all that you can probably recall that your teenage years weren’t all peaches and cream. Kids going through stuff, be it bullying, troubles between friends, struggles in their school work. Remember that you child is blossoming into an adult and treating them like their problems aren’t worthy of recognition won’t make anything better and can hurt their ability to open up and address their own issues in adulthood. Listen to your child and empathize. Avoid giving any advice or changing the topic,simply hear them out instead.
Another problem to look out for with your child is aggression. You may notice that your teen is often angry. They may try to argue or talk back. The best way to handle this is to understand that just like you do, your kid is going to get angry sometimes. It’s a normal emotion for humans and more than common among hormonal teenagers. The best way to handle a teenager that’s angry and shouting is not to shout back or try to win the argument but to be calm. It may be incredibly hard to avoid yelling but know that fighting with a child won’t get either of you anywhere, it will just upset you both further and forge resentment from your kid. Remain calm, listen to your teen’s issues, let the vent and encourage them to talk to you when they are upset. Teaching them to talk it out and face their anger can be a much better outlet them their need to possible turn to violent to alleviate their anger.
If you feel your teen may need counseling you can depend on the professionals at Insight Treatment to help you and your teen to forge a healthy path forward. Please give us a call at (888) 295-9995 to learn more about our programs and admissions process.