Teenage Years – Parenting Matters

Can we parents ask ourselves “Why Not”

Your teenager asks you: Can I go for this party? Can I have a new phone? Can I streak my hair? Or shave my head? Can I go for a late-night movie show? I like that girl. Can I call her home? As a parent of a teenager, when faced with such questions, the first...

The ever-evolving Manual of a Parent of a Teenager

“Amma …the Batman movie is finally here!”, says my excited 15-year-old. “Shall I book tickets for us?”, I say equally excitedly. My response is met with an indignant violent reaction – “ Who said I want to go with you and Appa.” I find it tough to keep a straight face, my heart breaking. My...

Teenagers and their search for identity

I had heard that teenagers go through an “identity crisis” and I thought I was prepared for it when my daughter hit her teen years. I expected it to be about rebelling, by having some fads about hairstyles and clothes. All of us parents roll our eyes when we discuss our teenage children seeing it...

Responding to your Teenager’s big feelings when you need to say NO

In last week’s article we explored the idea of trying not to react with an automatic ‘No’ when our teenager wants to do something that makes us uncomfortable. We instead suggested finding out what that action means to the teenager and if it is truly detrimental to his well being. After this process of showing...

Teenagers and stress

Two weeks back we wrote an article “ A hug a day keeps stress away” in which we shared the science of what happens to children when they receive warm caring touches from their parents. We spoke about how touch activates natural calming chemicals like opioids and oxytocin in the brain. When children are brought...

Teenagers : Self-Centered or Society-Centered

Teenagers!! We always think of them as self-centered, difficult and demanding. Recently, I had a few experiences that forced me to altogether rethink my image of teenagers. I met a 15 year-old who had gone for a school camp to Auroville, Pudducherry. There she had stayed in a vegan community. Through discussions and watching documentaries,...

What to do when teenagers push us away

Parents of teenagers who come for our workshops have similar woes- “My teenager doesn’t talk to me, but chats with her friends all the time!” “My son always wants to be alone in his room with the door closed.” “My daughter just refuses to come for family functions or visits to grandparents.” “My child spends...

Responding to rudeness from a teenager

“I hate you” “You don’t understand anything” “Why can’t you just let me be” “You are the worst parent in the world” “You always say No” Parents of teenagers today often hear such statements. We are taken aback since we may have been brought up in an environment where there was no question of disrespecting...

Is the younger generation oversensitive ?

It seems to be common to read in the press, statements about today’s generation of children being oversensitive and pampered. Articles often put forward a view that youngsters do not know how to handle criticism or failure and hence they react to situations violently. Sometimes taking extreme steps like self-harm, suicide or murder. The conclusions...

Flying the nest

As a Parent Educator, I have been curious to know more about teenagers and also where teenagers and young adults get their confidence to take on the world?I happened to meet a bunch of youngsters in this age group. I asked them, some of whom were teenagers just joining college, and some recent graduates, this...

Understanding Teenagers

In our workshop on ‘Parenting Teenagers’, a father shared, “My son hardly talks to me these days. As a child he used to be chatting with me all the time. Now he only answers me in monosyllables. I feel shut out of his world!” Another mother in the workshop chimed in, “My daughter Shruti, anyway...

A letter to my daughter on the first day of her board exams

My dearest daughter, I cannot believe that time has passed so fast. Just yesterday we dropped you for your first day at kindergarten and with what seems like a blink of an eye, today you start with your class 12 Board exam! School days are getting over! There is so much that I want to...

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