5 Things Your Teens Wish You’d Never Do!

Change is a strange part of life. We all need change sometimes: a change in environment, job, wardrobe, eating habits, even friends. But sometimes, we just want to cling onto time and never let it change. We don’t want to grow old, we don’t want our safe, predictable world to change beyond our understanding.

But life is life and nothing remains the same as we’re used to for very long. We age, things change beyond our understanding and under our very noses, our kids change. They change drastically- in good ways and …ahem, in other ways too! A day comes when they’re no longer the sweet, hug-loving angels anymore! They enter their tweens and all of a sudden you feel them cringe when you try to plant a kiss on their forehead! And what do you hear the most? Something like, “Mom! Forget it, you won’t get it!” or, “Hey, can you please not do that? It’s soooo embarrassing!”

Parents fear their kids growing up…

It’s true! Deep down, whether you are willing to admit it or not, we parents don’t want our kids to grow up. We want them to be far away from the harsh realities of life and all the horror stories they might hear and experience in their teen years. But that’s part of the game. Trends, fashion and pop culture change and parents feel out of touch increasingly. And trust me; it’s like taking a new test everyday!

5 things parents should avoid

We need to be open and honest with our children, and if we want our children to continue respecting us through the major changes in their lives, we need to step back and look at what we are doing that might be disrespectful of their feelings.

1. Don’t shout, yell or scream in public

Shouting in public? Not a very good thing to do in any situation. We have all seen it – at a fun event, school or at the mall. A parent pulls a beetle juice and completely humiliates their poor kid. I remember the time when my mom just blew it on me in front of my aunts and siblings. So much for that meal! I was on the verge of tears and simply wished the earth would split so I could bury myself. We parents need to stop the yelling and work on our killer glares instead.

2. No public display of affection, please!

I love hugging my kids, and they love it too- at home. In front of the school howver, is another pot of beans.  If you so want to show your affection, you can always do that in private. At the very least, not in front of his friends! Not unless you’re cool with his friends calling him a sissy or mama’s boy!

3. Don’t try to be cool!

It’s okay and you don’t have to pretend to be “with-it” or “cool” with your kids and their friends! Just talk the way you would to a person your age and under any circumstance, do not use any slangs or pop buzzwords!!! This would make your kids do this:

 

4. Posting their awkward childhood pictures online

To parents, their kids are the most adorable little things in life and no matter what they’re doing (bathing, picking nose, sleeping with mouth open or with chocolate cake splattered on their face) kids still look cute and adorable to parents. But it might be the worst thing you could do to them if you go on sharing those awkward childhood pictures online! If their friends ever catch something like that, they’re going to literally grill your kids with serious teasing – and this is not okay!

5. Cornering their dates

I know that parenting instinct could be overpowering sometimes and we can’t help but feel a little too apprehensive when it comes to our kids going out with a date. Dads, particularly take it a little too far with all the awkward questions, cross-questions and strange expressions. So just keep yourself from asking questions like, “how well you know my daughter?” or “You know I have a black-belt in Karate?” just let them be and calm down your nerves!

Surviving Teen Years

 

Teenage is as difficult for your teens as it is for the parents. They are undergoing so many changes, they don’t understand all of them themselves! So just give them some space and don’t try too hard to be a perfect parent! Just be who you are and let them have some fun. But if your parenting instincts can’t rest, give a try to the digital parental controls to keep a safety check on your teens. A way to help, without being in their face!