Are you presently in a parent teenager relationship where you as a rule, are always praising and affirming the self worth of your teen and yet they still struggle to believe in themselves and have a fear of failure? This appears to be a common reality. Being a parent what can you do to help your teenager approach risk and the fear of failure in a helpful way? I would like to introduce to you three...

It’s been said that “if you keep doing what you have always done you will keep on getting what you have always got”. This is certainly true in your parent teenager relationship. If in your parent teenager relationship you are getting the results that you want, then obviously keep doing whatever you are doing. However if you are not getting the results you want, it does not take an...

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase: “It is easy to have a great parent teenager relationship”? Knowing what you know about raising teenagers you may be apt to think that the person who penned the words is a little crazy or arrogant or perhaps a little cheeky? Notwithstanding, the art of asking the right questions is a useful skill in parenting. Framing questions in a positive context...

As a parent of a teenager do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the pressure to buy your teen the latest trendy item of clothing or gizmo? Do you notice that sometimes you find yourself giving in and later wish that you hadn’t? Have you come to the conclusion that you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t? If this sounds, looks or feels like you, don’t despair, help is on the...

Through your parent teenager relationship it is normal to want to communicate your support of your teenager. One of the phrases that you may naturally convey to your teenager is one that tells them how proud you feel of their accomplishments. Whilst the intention is only good, inadvertently, it becomes a self affirming action. By doing so, your teen does not get the full credit that is due to him. Let...

Directing and correcting your kid as a way of parenting as well as the laissez-faire or ‘hands off’ approach tp parenting are seriously flawed particularly when applied to a parent teenager relationship. Both of these common traditional approaches to parenting ususally end up with destructive consequences. Rather, by following the lead taken in business and sporting circles, a coaching...

During my adolescent years I distinctly remember that I was always checking to see whether what I was doing was right and would meet the approval of my parents. In retrospect, my observation of my own parents leads me to now believe that most of the communication in our parent teenager relationship consisted of my parents directing and correcting me. In other words, much of the dialogue was about them...

It is clear that a primary human condition for overall good health and well being is to live in a state of hopefulness. Conversely, when hope is missing, the world appears to to take on a darker complexion. What then, does living with hope got to do with your parent teenager relationship? Much of the pleasure and stimulation of life lies in the act of dreaming, fantasizing, anticipating, planning and...

Parenting expert Dr Laurence Steinberg says that “There is no more important job in society than raising children, and there is no more important influence on how children develop than their parents”. This is in stark contrast of our modern society that rewards people the least who take on human caring roles. Think for a moment of the salaries of nurses, teachers and in particular special...