Is Your Teenager A Difficult Teen?
How do you know if your teenager fits in to the troubled or difficult teen category?
If you have a teenager that fits in to this category, what can you do to sort them out before they turn into an out of control young adult?
Here are some of the signs of whether your teenager fits in to the ‘difficult teen’ category:
1. Your teenager doesn’t abide by your family or household rules.
2. Your teenager has been suspended or expelled from school or had a drop in grades.
3. Your teenager can be verbally abusive.
4. Your teenager socialises with a bad crowd.
5. Your teenager no longer participates in his favourite sports and activities.
6. You cannot get your teenager to do homework or chores around the house.
7. Your teenager has had problems with the law.
8. You have to be very careful with how you speak to your teenager to avoid a verbal attack from him.
9. Your teenager wants to drop out of school.
10. Your teenager has become withdrawn and may even seem depressed.
11. Your teenager no longer takes care of his/her personal appearance
12. Your teenager shows sign of violent behaviour
13. Your teenager is manipulative and deceitful
14. Your teenager has no motivation
15. Your teenager is becoming dishonest
16. Your teenager has become sexually promiscuous
17. Your teenager has shown evidence of suicidal behaviour
18. You suspect your teenager has been stealing from your home
19. You are concerned of your teenager’s safety
20. Your teenager seems angry and often has temper outbursts
21. Your teenager seems to have no self esteem
22. You have lost all trust in your teenager
23. Your teenager has no respect for authority
24. Your teenager is involved in activities you do not approve of
25. You suspect or know your teenager is involved with drugs, or is associating with people that are involved with drugs.
26. You are concerned about your teenager’s future
27. Your teenager is constantly opposing your family values
28. Your teenager will constantly defy all rules no matter what the consequence
29. You are exhausted and becoming run down from your teenager’s behaviour
30. You feel you have no power over your teenager
If your teenager falls into 18 or more of the above points then your teenager is in the high risk difficult teenager category. You may be at a point where your parenting is not enough and will need to seek help. You may be able to seek help from their school and if their school cannot help you it may be time to change to a school that can.
If your teenager falls into between 9 and 17 of the above points then your teenager is a borderline risk of becoming a difficult teen. By tightening the family rules and structure and by showing your child lots of praise for their positive points, you may be able to resolve the situation. If you are still having problems then you may need to consider outside help.
If your teenager falls below 8 of the above points then there is a low to moderate risk of becoming a difficult teen. Enforce the family rules and structure, spend quality time with your teen and really focus on and praise them for their positive behaviours.
1 comment:
How about 28 out of 30? That's what my son registered right before we made him leave our house at 18 years old. All these signs are very large red flags that they are using drugs and on the way to addiction, as he was.
Number 29 deserves a special mention. That's what your teen is hoping for. If you feel that way, you must find a way to continue the fight. You most likely won't make much progress, but you must keep pushing and always have your next step ready.
We did, and my son is over three years sober now.
Post a Comment