Active Parenting for Teens

I really enjoyed watching the videos on parenting teens. I am really excited to be a mother some day but I always was afraid of the day I become a mother of teenagers. I felt like this video taught really good principles. I liked the steps for handling conflict. I don't know if I remember them perfectly but I think this is pretty close.

1: Ask nicely.
2: Use an I statement. Explain how your teens action is making you feel.
3: Send a stronger message, but not threatening.
4: Enforce a logical consequence.

If you go through the steps in order then you usually won't have to enforce any consequences. I liked that in class we talked about how wise parents use logical consequences and they also discuss the consequences with their teens. Andrew and I have talked about how we want to figure out consequences with our teens ahead of time.

Another thing we talked about in class was that teens need contact and a sense of belonging. Chores and responsibilities play a big role in this. Wise parents give their children chores and jobs to do within the family.