Teenage Behavior Modification

Certainly, one of the baffling mysteries of parental life! 

The love between you is unconditional, yet there are those incidents which leave you at an absolute loss for words! For example, you wander into the kitchen, where your teen is preparing a snack. You just happen to be

there for a glass of water. You're sideswiped with an undeserved remark. “Oh, I just hate it when you come snooping on me!” Whoa. You do a mental regroup. “Hey, sweetie, I just came for a glass of water. I didn't even know you were out in the kitchen!” The response? “Can I just fix my food, puhleeze?” Well, OK, you can do that. Your feelings are hurt. You really didn't mean to be spying, for crying out loud! “I love you!”, you say, in all sincerity, before making your exit, water glass in hand. This is teenage behavior. There's no other way to explain it.

You may well wonder why teenage behavior is outside the norm of regular parent to kid communication. What you need to understand is that there's no explaining it. Be assured that your child loves you with all their heart, but once that child becomes a teenager, all of the normal stops are pulled. Teenage behavior is characterized by inexplicable conversation, accusations and a general lack of civility. You just need to acclimate your emotions to this difficult period of your child's life. Yes, they'll come around – eventually.

In the meantime, which, incidentally, can be a considerable stretch of time, you can read parenting advice, talk to your friend who also has a teenager in the household and learn how to mellow out on a moment's notice. If you don't vent a little and take this teenage behavior with a grain of salt, there's trouble ahead. Be assured that your newly precocious child, who evidently knows everything there is to know, without your sage input, will inevitably discover that this is not the case. Be patient. Teenage behavior is driven largely by hormones and friends.

Key to understanding your teenager's behavior is the realization that everything you've tried to teach them is now sinking in to their consciousness. They just refuse to give you credit for knowing anything. Your teenager now feels that they're ready to exercise all you've bestowed as wisdom and re-make their own interpretation of same into their reality.

What it amounts to, is that your child is now putting into practice their version of ownership of their world. Really, they feel that they are prepared for adult life. Teenage behavior is characterized by control. Before the onset of teenager-ism, you controlled what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Your teen is no different, developmentally, than any other teen. Teenage behavior, with all of its puzzling characteristics, is simply a playing out of roles.

Bide your time, vent with your sister and exchange stories. You'll feel better. Your beloved child will outgrow this notorious teenage behavior.