Parent-Teenager Problems

Parent-teenager problems are a common thing in most households. While problems among family members are more common in some houses than others, just about every teenager gets in trouble at some point during his adolescent years. How parents and teenagers handle these conflicts, however, is what determines whether there will be parent-teenager problems. When issues are handled calmly and fairly, fewer problems tend to arise, though this all depends on the individual teenager and parent relationship. As teenagers grow up, they tend to want to test their limits and sometimes they get into trouble because of this. A parent might worry if their teenage son starts acting more distant and starts behaving badly, and that is usually a good thing, since these are the signs that he might be getting into trouble while his father is not watching.

Some Common Parent-Teenager Problems

Reasons for problems between teenagers and parents vary greatly, and each situation is different another, but there are common reasons for parent-teenager problems. Some of these common reasons are:

A teenager is getting bad grades at school. This can cause a problem because the parents of a teen who is not getting the best grades in school will be worried about him graduating and getting into college. Also, if a teen gets bad grades, he probably will not get any scholarships for school, which can be a hardship on parents.
A teen is hanging out with a bad crowd. A teenager who has friends that do things their parents do not approve of the can end up doing those things too, and the teen’s friends will probably not be received well by the parents.
A parent who is overly strict with their teenager will probably have problems with him at some point. It is important to be firm, but not overly firm, since this may make a teenager want to rebel even more.
If a teenager gets herself into trouble at school, then she will probably have a few fights with her parents about it. If they take disciplinary action, she probably will not be happy about it.
Lack of communication causes a lot of problems between parents and teenagers. It is important for both parties to communicate.
There could be any number of reasons why a parent and her teenager do not get along, and each situation is unique.

Ways to Fix Problems Between Parents and Teens

If you, or your teenager, are having problems, then you will probably want to fix them. There are many different ways this can be done, from reading books to going to a counselor together. A few ideas are:

Communicate. Talking to someone when you are upset with what they are doing is important, since if you do not talk to them, they won’t know you are mad or upset.
Read a book about parenting, or about parent and teenager relationships.
Go to a family counselor. While many people are against the idea of going to someone outside of their family for advice, going to a family counselor could be a good way to open up communication between teens and their parents.
Do things together, such as going to a movie or playing board games.
Fixing a family problem might seem hard, but as long as everyone communicates his or her feelings, everything should work out in the end. There are many books available about parent and teenager relationships that can help improve communication within families.