Dealing With Defiant Teenagers
Not only does a defiant teenager have problems with parents, it eventually affects the entire family. The troubled teen will get into fights with siblings and treat them with disrespect. Usually if your teenager is struggling with behavior at home they are most likely having difficulties at school. You may have already gotten a call from the teacher or principal telling you your teen son or daughter is out of control and something drastic needs to be done. Let not your heart be troubled. There is help and you can encourage your defiant teen to make the right choices.
One of the things you can do right of the bat is have a family meeting and bring the issues out in the open so everyone can share their feelings. Make sure the meeting is a discussion and not an arguing match or a chance to point fingers at one person. Get out a pen and paper and list different things and activities your family can do in order to grow closer.
If your teenage son or daughter is struggling with drugs, they may need more help. We work with many different programs that are designed to help teens quit drugs and get their lives back on track. If you suspect your teen is using drugs, one way to find out is to purchase a low cost home drug test. Don't give them a warning that you will test them and make sure you stand outside the door when they are actually doing the drug test.
Another good approach to take is by creating a parent teen contract. These are very successful because the defiant teenager will take part in creating the rewards and consequences section of the document. You as a parent and your teen get to choose what will happen when they disobey, and what will happen when they follow the rules. You can also add other family members to the contract or create and entire different contract tailored to each child. Download a free contract here: Free Teen Contracts
If you have tried some of these things or other things and nothing has worked, you may want to consider sending them to a behavior modification camp or school. These programs dedicate themselves to providing 24 care to defiant teenage boys and girls. These programs also have excellent education programs that have enabled a lot of teens to graduate early. Give us a call today and we can walk you through some of our programs and schools.