Strategies to handle difficult behaviour in adolescence

Handling difficult behaviour in adolescence has no quick fix processes, but here are 5 top tips to consider......

• Really take time out to listen to your teen.
• Make your teen aware that he or she is loved. Tell them, they will appreciate it, even though their behaviour may not give that impression.
• Your teen may be angry, feel lost with no sense of direction in life. Reasure your teen that this is a chapter in life that he/she and you will get through.
• Read the book and work through some of the exercises. Give the book to your teen to read and ask their opinion.
• If you are able to read with your child and, in a sense, share the book then the conversations that stem from that can be enlightening.

A common cause for difficult behaviour in adolescence is stress

·        49% of respondents to a survey sited stress as the reason for reduced productivity . Ref: David Murphy 2003 San Francisco Chronicle.

·        More and more teens are having to produce course work as a contributor to final exam results.

·        Information overload….according to the 2003 issue of PC World in 1995 there were 100million emails sent worldwide. 2002 there were 5.5 trillion.  2003 7 trillion plus.

·        Peer pressure creates a constant demand to keep up with latest trends and fashions.

·        financial pressure.

·        More teens than ever are finding part time employment to subsidise 21^st century lifestyle.

·        Many teens feel extra pressure at around 13-14 years old when they start making decisions on subjects that may lead to university speciality subjects and ultimate career choices.

·        They often don’t have the first clue what they are going to do with their lives, but feel that this apparent life changing decision is just too much to deal with.