I live in a small, rural area and we attend church in a small town in rural Northern Michigan. If you’ve been following this blog, you probably know by now that I’m a youth leader in our church. And since I’m pretty close to a lot of the teens that attend, I know a lot about the issues they are facing. And just because we live in a small rural area, doesn’t mean that our teens are exempt from dealing with some pretty heavy issues; issues that are a lot deeper than when I was a teenager.

Today’s teens are faced with issues like their friends becoming pregnant, friends dying of overdoses, friends being abused sexually, physically and emotionally, cutting, low self esteem and so on. And it’s not just our teen’s friends facing these issues, more and more teens are facing these issues themselves.

As a parent of a teen, you’re probably wondering what you can do to protect and help your teen when they are facing some of these issues. The first thing to do is to educate your teen.  Sit down with your teen and have a heart to heart with them and let them know your stance on these issues. For instance, how do you feel about sex before marriage? What is your stance on drinking and partying? It will help your teen make wise decisions if they know how you feel about these issues in advance, which will protect them and help them to not make the wrong decision.

However, if your teen does make a mistake, such as getting pregnant or underage drinking, the best thing you can do is help and support them. It doesn’t mean you agree with or condone what they did, it simply means you love and care for them and will help them the best way that you can. That means emotionally and probably financially. However, that does not mean enabling them to continue down a road of drunkeness, unprotected sex, or whatever the issue may be. As parents, it’s our responsibility to guide and direct our children the best we can. We need to be proactive in their lives and often this may require us stepping in, even when they think they don’t want us to. But in the long run they will appreciate it and come to understand why you did what you had to to protect them and help them.