Monday, December 31, 2012

6 Tips for Parents of Teenagers

On Sunday, December 30, 2012, Fr. Gary had some words of wisdom with parents (specifically parents of teenagers) in his homily. You can watch the homily here or make note of his 6 tips for parents here:

Parents: When it’s not easy, there are several things to remember: 
  1. Don’t freak out (panic) when it happens in your family.  It even happened in Jesus’ family. 
  2. Please try to not take it personally. It is not. They are doing their work. (Remember: something is wrong if your kids aren’t pushing back in their adolescents, not if they are!) 
  3. Keep a sense of humor. Help each other remember to laugh. 
  4. Keep boundaries that are healthy.  But maybe check them out with somebody else you trust in case too strict or too loose.
  5. Do the inner letting go that enables you to say "they are not me!" They are not me and they should not be. 
  6. Make sure the kids know that no matter what, you are committed to them…  and that nothing will ever break that commitment. 
Your children may bring you all kinds of heartaches, particularly during these adolescent years, but they need to know that your love is constant in their lives.  They need to know they will never cease to be your son or daughter. 

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