Parent Your Teenager Into Adulthood
Many people think that once their children become teenagers their parenting will become much easier. They figure that the days of physically caring for their children will be almost over and that somehow teens will want to take care of themselves from the day they hit 13. Those who hold these beliefs have never had a sick teenager in the house!
This has been a bad winter for the Chadwick household. The flu has hit us pretty hard and the only one that has managed to stay healthy isMamma Bear. While my kids are all teenagers, when they are sick, they want the same doting as a two-year-old child! They want mom home at all time and preferably at their side. #147;I need Kleenex...#148; #147;I need water.#148; #147;I feel awful, can you rub my head.#148;
When my 15-year-old daughter came down with the flu this winter, she reverted to her former child-like self. Normally, she is very independent and likes to take care of herself. She takes care of all areas of her life: finances, studies, care for her clothing, etc. When she got sick, however, all she wanted was for mom to be there, taking care of her. In fact, it was a busy week for this work-at-home mom and apparently I wasn't giving my girl enough attention. She was upstairs in her room and every time she needed something she would call me on my cell phone from the telephone in her room with her requests. As she began to feel a little better, but not totally well, she would call and say, #147;Mom where are you? I'm lonely!#148; So much for being independent!
My point is that no matter how grown up your teens seem to be they always need their parents. They need your advice, they need your listening ear, they need your watchful eye, they need to have you to be available for them, and when they are sick they need you to pamper them! So many parents make the mistake of giving their teens too much freedom and become too busy with other areas of their lives during the teenage years. Just because they may seem grown up on the outside, it doesn't mean they are grown up on the inside!
God has given us a responsibility to raise our children to love and worship Him and to choose to live a godly, moral life. He promises us in Proverbs 22:6 that if we teach our children to choose the right path, when they are older, they will remain upon it.
Don't give up this opportunity to parent your teenager into adulthood. You have the good fortune to be the most important influence at this critical time in their lives. It is from you that they will learn to make daily choices to follow God's ways, which is really the biblical definition of wisdom! Rise up to the challenge and before you know it they will be grown and making decisions on their own. Your parenting days are numbered; use this time well!
Patricia Chadwick is a freelance writer and columnist in several online publications. Visit her website and sign up for her FREE weekly newsletters at
www.parentsandteens.com
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