This is a collaborative post.
As a parent of a teenager, you learn a lot. That much is true. Things are always changing and you’re forever faced with new challenges. No day is the same. So when you finally get the hang of doing one thing or looking after the next, things change. Your children change. And life changes. So yes, it’s safe to say that parenting can be testing.
Then your children turn into teenagers. And it’s like you’re faced with something entirely different. They’re moody, they’re independent, and they make you proud. Yet you might still find it quite hard to let go and for them to go off into life on their own. But it’s around this age that they need to try. And that you need to give them a little more responsibility. So let’s look at some ways that you might like to do that.
Give Them Chores
The first thing you will want to do is to make sure that they have chores. This is the simplest way to ease them into showing you that they can be responsible. It also teaches a teenager how to take care of themselves too. The chores can start with simple things and gradually increase to cooking a family meal.
How about getting them to do some decorating, you could start with decorating their room or helping with a sibling’s room. There are some great teenage room decoration ideas about I am sure they would have such fun too.
Get Them Their Own Phone
Now, this is something that you might be looking to do for your children that are just coming up to a responsible age. Because some of your older children might already have phones of their own.
But for your younger children that are getting their first phones, or even for the older ones too, something like Smarty.co.uk could be perfect for you. This will allow them to have something to be responsible for, but that you can control from a distance too.
Trust Them
But then also, you will want to give them a bit of trust too. And it can be tough when you first do this, but they do need to earn it. Here, you could look to give them a curfew. To make sure that they have that little bit of space and freedom to themselves. But at the same time, you’re giving them a window of opportunity to be able to show you that they are responsible. So this can be a very important step in the process.
Encourage Them To Get A Job
Teenagers can work. And if their workload permits it, maybe it’s time for them to get a job. This teaches them a great work ethic, how to balance their time, and money management too. It can often be a very good thing for your teenager to take on. Whether it be a paper-round or working in a shop they will learn so much.
Teach Them
And finally, if you also want to make sure that you are teaching them as much as you can about life and being independent. Because they are approaching adulthood. And the last thing you want is for them to not know how to look after themselves. It’s easy to want to do everything for them, but you just can’t. Because they won’t learn to do it for themselves. So if you want them to become responsible, it’s time for them to start learning how to look after themselves a bit more.
