Parent Teen Contract

Is this the solution you have been looking for with your teen?

I remember quite clearly the night one of my friends told me that her mom had offered her a parent teen contract. It was either she signed it, or she would have to go live with her dad. I know that sounds harsh to some parents, but my friend was in a lot of trouble at the time. While I commiserated with her at the time, I thought in the back of my head that I was glad that perhaps something would change. She was on a bad path, and her mom was just about out of ideas as to what to do to help her.

At that time, the parent teen contract she signed with her mom was pretty straightforward. It stated what their relationship would be with each other depending on which way she chose to go. As it turned out, this was the best thing that ever happened to them as mother and daughter. My friend has some troubles with the parent teen contract, but it worked out well in the end. No one is perfect, but this helped them turn the corner. This was the first time I had heard of such a thing, but it may have been more common than I knew.

What I do know is that parent teen contract signings are more common than ever. Some of them are to help troubled teens like my friend all those years ago, and some are just to prevent things from going wrong before they can do so. When it comes to teens in trouble, the parent teen contract can state what is going to happen, how the child will be from then on out, and what will happen if those terms are violated. These are more powerful in those situations than you may think.

When it comes to a parent teen contract to prevent problems, all types of things can come to mind. Many parents use these to help keep their children off drugs, to prevent pregnancy, or to prevent any type of sex at all. Some teenagers will have oral sex thinking they can not get pregnant, but don’t realize the emotional damage that can do, and also that it is still possible to get a sexually transmitted disease that way. Some are short term parent teen contracts. They could be for one event or one situation if need be.

If you think that parent teen contracts are what you need, you can look around to see if you can come across any examples that would work for you. You can also draft one on your own. Make sure you keep it simple and to the point. The contract should be worded in a very straightforward manner so that what is expected of the teen is very clear. If you find that you are having to write out the parent teen contract quite often because your child is in trouble, you may need to add some counseling to the process for more help.