Mélange of emotions II

Are lives of parents and teens at crossroads heading from and to a different direction…??

It does feel so for parents who have teenage kids. The teens are emotionally confused at this point and to be honest the parents too are at times not clear as to how to precisely handle the situation. Instead of confrontations, it would be in best interest of parents and teens to affirmatively influence.

Here are some ways to go about it:

Accept your teen the way he/she is:

• When the children are entering in this new phase of life, the parents already have a preconceived image of what their child would be like and often struggle to accept the way their child is actually turning out to be.
• Maybe the parents had an image of an academically excellent child but he/she may be an average student who is excellent in sports or vice versa. Parents might have expected their child to be very social and interactive person but he grew up to be an introvert.
• Sometimes, it becomes very difficult for parents to accept the child for who he/she is and how they behave. Their disappointment and frustration, if vented in the form of anger further worsens their relation with the child. The child is still immature and incapable of understanding the reason for the parents’ outburst. He/she either becomes rebellious or reclusive……

Understanding the gap to bridge it:

Parents and teens are at life’s different halts aka ‘ Jeevan ka padav’.

When the Teens are about to enter the most vibrant and energetic phase of their lives, the parents are almost in their 40s and staring at midlife crises. The parents are at their life’s peak at the moment and feel that it would go downhill from there. On the other hand, life for ‘Teens’ is just beginning to take shape. Both of them are struggling to anchor their lives. Teens have plethora of opportunities to grab and make it big in life. The world is for them to conquer…. And the parents have gained enough experience through ups and downs in life and fear for the ‘fearless’. This puts both of them at odds. Nonetheless parents need to find a way to effectively communicate to bond with the teen.

The onus lies with the parents, owing to their experience gained through lessons learned in life and the ability to deal with all sorts of tricky situations. Each parent knows the strengths and weakness of their teen. It’s time for nurturing the teen’s strengths and help him/her overcome the weaknesses through compassion and perseverance…..

Originally published at https://www.teenologysimplified.com on March 6, 2020.