Out Of Control Behavior
When a teen crosses the bridge of refusing to follow the requests of his or her parents they enter a new world. The parents obviously enter this world at the same time their teen does. The problem then becomes what to do with a teen is not doing what their parents ask of them? Out of control behavior can ruin any relationship a parent and teen may have had previous to this drastic step in the life of a now troubled teen. This out of control behavior can be as simple as refusing to make a bed and increasing in danger to refusing to come home when requested. The troubled teen will obviously test the fence every day to see how far they will be allowed to take their new found freedom.
There are several effective ways to deal with a teen that believes that he or she is now free to do as they please. Parent can try removing any financial support. They can also take away possessions, computers, I pod, cell phones, automobiles, anything that they have provided up to this time. If the parent purchased it, they have the right to take it away. Many states have a list of items that a parents is legally bound to provide for their children. These can range from 2 meals a day a blanket and a change of clothes to much more in many states. The difficulty comes when a parent starts to get cold feet or is not consistent with this process. It is hard to see your child go without things that you have worked hard to provide for them.
Lack Of Respect
When a teen begins to lose respect for things that have always been important to him or her it can be a sign of a departure from family and personal values. While it may seem like an insignificant event for a teen that has always been respectful to begin to lose respect it may be an indicator of things to come. The whole key to helping a troubled teen is look for signs preceding a complete collapse of their personal value system. It is typical for teens to pull away from their families as they enter teenage years. This makes it difficult to for parents to know if their child is just going through typical teen behavior or if they are heading in a negative direction.
Lack of respect like any different behavior should be handled through love and communication. Remember the struggles that you went through as a youth there was probably someone in your life that you could talk to. Your teen will need someone just like that. If you can keep the lines of communication open with your teen you may be the one they are able to confide in. Just because they are beginning to show a lack of respect may not mean anything more than typical behavior.
When all else fails parents may need to take the out of control teen to a private boarding school for troubled teens. This can be a very costly experience but may be the only way to keep the child from making mistakes that will haunt them the rest of their lives.