Here is a listing of the top ten tips for parents of teens and preteens:

1.  Give your child choices.  Hopefully, you’ve been giving your child power over his or her own life in small ways all along, so that by the time your child becomes a teen, it is simply a natural progression.  If not, it’s okay to change the rules.  Let your teen know that you want him or her to have more control over his or her own life.  Give your teens choices that make them in control of their own lives.

2.  Let your child have a voice.  No, they aren’t in charge…and no, you don’t have to give a voice to rudeness or obnoxious behavior.  But if your child has an opinion, value him or her by listening – and considering.  Your child needs to feel like a valuable member of your family.

3.  You are the parent and the adult.  You have the power to end conversations when they turn into arguments; you have the emotional maturity to stay calm and reasonable when your child does not and cannot. 

4.  Your behavior sets a far more effective example to your child than your words.  Your overreaction, emotional outbursts, and violent reactions teach them that that is acceptable behavior.  Your ability to stay calm (count to ten, walk away, bite your tongue) teaches your child responsible mature behavior and gives them emotional management tools.

5.  Don’t do everything for your child.  When they have needs, help them learn how to meet their needs on their own.  Teach your child how to do laundry, cook, and clean (of course this may vary depending on the age of your child).  Don’t make it a chore; make it a fun way to help your child gain independence.  Stop fighting all of your kid’s battles — It’s going to turn them into whiny, weak adults!! 

6.  You will reach your child more effectively by listening instead of talking.  Make sure your child knows you are there – and don’t just say you’re there, mean it.  Be available when your child needs to talk; make choices in your own life that demonstrate to your child his or her importance in your life.

7.  Don’t try to solve all of your childs’ problems. Instead of reacting with “You should do this” ask your child what they think should be done.  Praise your childs’ ability to think things through, guide them where necessary, and let them know you trust them to make the right choices.  The belief and faith you have in your child helps motivate them to make the right choices.  Again,  stop fighting all of your kid’s battles — It’s going to turn them into whiny, weak adults!! 

8.  Whether it’s a new concept in your house or something you’ve been doing all along, be consistent.  Behaviors should have consequences (good and bad).  Praise positive behavior and enforce consequences for negative behavior.

9.  Recognize that your child is not a bad person even when he or she is making bad choices.  Choose your words carefully – never call your child a derogatory name.  Address the choice they made, give consequences because of the choice.

10.  Treat your child as an individual.  Respect your child, recognize that while this is your child, he or she is also well on the way to being a unique and independent individual.  When you treat your children with respect, you set an example they can follow with you and others in life.

Following as many of these top ten tips for parents as you can and you will soon seen a positive change in the relationship that you have with your children.

I have organized a totally free coaching class where I will share strategies with you that will help you know when and how to step into or step back from the battles your kids face.  It is totally free and is chock full of useful information that you can use immediately!  Sign up and perhaps there will be just one less whining adult in the world because of it.

Part-time jobs are a great way for teens to learn about managing money, and it can take some of the load off of Mom and Dad as providers of spending money. It can boost their confidence and help them on their way toward becoming independent adults. But most teens are still in school, so it’s important to remember that work should not take the place of homework or study time.

Here are some tips on how teens can find a part-time job, things to consider, and some of the things to expect.

Transportation

Consider how your teen is going to get to and from his or her job. If your teen is not driving, or if you don’t have a vehicle you can spare, take that into consideration before your teen applies for a particular job.

How Many Hours?

Twenty hours a week is the average for a part-time job, but your teen’s other activities and schoolwork should be taken into consideration, too. If he or she only has 10 hours a week to devote to work, then babysitting or yard work might be good choices.

Studies have shown that teens who work more than 20 hours a week tend to flag behind in schoolwork and experience more fatigue due to lack of sleep. Other studies point to between 10 and 15 hours per week as the ideal number of hours for teens to gain the advantages of employment without sacrificing school and social life.

What Kinds of Jobs?

As noted above, babysitting and yard work are popular first jobs for teens. Today, there are online jobs, too. Transcription, writing web content, running a blog, and so forth are all legitimate part-time jobs, and your teen can pick and choose based on how many hours your teen has available.

Speaking of online jobs, your teen can also set up his or her own business online. He can manage a web content company and hire other teens to write for him, or he can set up an informational niche website. There are forums and organizations online devoted to helping teens start up their own businesses.

Handmade items and crafts are on the rise. Artisan foods are a hot item these days, as are hand-sewn bags and bath products. Your teen can set up a website to sell his or her products, or use online tools like eBay. Also, local retailers might be willing to sell items for a percentage of the sale price.

Income

How much your teen can expect to make does, of course, depend on the job and the number of hours. It’s important to be realistic here, too; your teen may be working for minimum wage at only 10 hours a week. But experience is invaluable, and your teen does not have the life expenses that adults do, such as grocery and utility bills.

Real Life Guidance Guide to Understanding Your Teen This toolkit offers parenting help and help solve the mysteries in understanding your teen.

Many parents will openly admit that their teens don’t get enough sleep and many parents are on the lookout for good sleep tips for teenagers.  It’s generally well known that exercise improves sleep, but for teens this may have special significance.  A recent study showed a sharp distinction between the sleep quality of teens who sat in front of a computer for more than two hours a day or a television for more than four hours a day, and those who exercised instead. The teens who sat in front of the computer did so recreationally – that is, they did social networking, played games, and so forth.

This “sedentary behavior” had a profound effect on the teens’ sleep quality. Teens who exercised instead of spending time in front of the computer reported sleeping for eight hours or more, while the sedentary teens got insufficient sleep.

Teens are a special concern regarding exercise and sleep. There are several reasons for this, such as the following:

• Teens are more likely to spend recreational time in front of a computer.
• Teens tend to stay up late due to homework and/or circadian rhythm changes.
• Teens actually need more sleep per night (between nine and ten hours) than the average adult. 
• Teens are in school, and schoolwork is often very demanding and requires sufficient sleep to be tackled effectively.
• Teens’ brains are still developing.

In other words, teens are the most likely group to get insufficient sleep, yet they are the group that needs it most.  So how does exercise improve sleep for teens? 

Here are a few sleep tips for teenagers

For one thing, teens who do not exercise are more likely to be obese, and obesity affects sleep quality. According to the study referred to above, chronic sleep deprivation affects teens’ immune systems, the cardiovascular system, and the brain (which, in teens, is still developing). Exercise has been shown to help in all these areas – cardiovascular, immune, and neurological systems are all said to be positively impacted by exercise.

Exercise also makes your teen tired in a good way, and research shows it reduces stress. Stress can really keep your teen up at night, so exercising may relieve that stress and improve sleep. Regular exercise also boosts the appetite, and if parents keep lots of healthy food around, teens may be more likely to eat even foods they have shunned in the past. Intake of more healthy food also helps promote overall health and, by extension, sleep quality.

Generally speaking, vigorous cardiovascular exercise is the best for promoting sleep. Stretching and other forms of exercise are certainly good for the body and may help promote relaxation, thus aiding sleep; but experts agree that at least 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise – preferably in the afternoon – has the most benefit.

By using the sleep tips for teenagers in the above article, your teen will be on his/her path to a better nights sleep.

Real Life Guidance Guide to Understanding Your Teen This toolkit offers parenting help and help solve the mysteries in understanding your teen.

If you are new to being a parent, then you may have a lot of ideas for how you envision yourself parenting your children as they grow older. Most parents do, especially first-time parents. However, as most parents know, the best laid plans often go awry when it comes to parenting. Therefore, instead of trying to be the perfect parent, it’s a better goal to try to be an honest parent.

Honest parenting may sound easy, but the truth is it isn’t. Honest parenting requires that not only are you honest with yourself regarding various situations, but that you are also honest with your child about things too. Now, does this mean you have to go into detail about how grandma passed away? No, it only means that you don’t avoid the question because it makes you uncomfortable. In this situation, most young children accept an answer like, “grandma just fell asleep and didn’t wake up,” or something similar. Of course, when dealing with teenagers your answers won’t be as simple as those given to small kids.

Of course, honest parenting involves more than just being honest when asked a question by your children. Below are a few more aspects of honest parenting:

• Showing Respect – You have most likely heard the statement, “respect is not given, it’s earned.” This is very true when it comes to parenting. While as a parent, you deserve respect from your children, you will not get it (willingly) by demanding it. You earn your children’s respect by treating them with respect. It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of a heated discussion, a temper tantrum or disciplining for an act of disobedience…you can be respectful in all of these situations. When you are, your children (teens included) will continue to respect you and your authority.

• Teaching Responsibility – One of the faux pas made by parents today is that they handle everything for their kids, no matter how old they are. Of course, a baby can’t be taught responsibility, but toddlers, grade-schoolers and teenagers can. Parents who implement honest parenting techniques want to teach their children responsibility from a young age because they know that their kids’ ability to become successful adults depend on it.

• Discipline – If you have ever watched parents and their children while out in public, then you can easily determine which parents discipline their kids and which ones don’t. Disciplining your children can be hard to do, but it is important that you do if you want your children to grow into young adults who are valued by their communities. It’s easy to look the other way when our kids do something they aren’t supposed to do to avoid disciplining them, but honest parenting requires that you be honest with yourself about your children. If you see your children causing trouble or show disrespect to someone, it’s your job to correct them.

• Being Consistent – Being consistent in your parenting strategies is another focus of honest parenting. When parents discipline their children for something one time, but not the next time they do it, it sends mixed signals to the children. The kids won’t stop the behavior because they know that they get by with it sometimes. Therefore, you have to be consistent with your parenting techniques in order for honest parenting to work.