It is not easy being the parent of a teenage girl. It’s like you and your child are constantly at loggerheads because she wants to do whatever she likes.
And while you are trying to protect her from the world and the dangers she faces being carefree and independent, she is seeing it as you trying to control her life. This causes friction and misunderstanding.
To help you manage this challenging parenting stage, you need to know some things your teenage daughter really wants you to know but might not tell you.
If there’s any stage of life that’s perfect for experimenting with style and self-expression, it’s the teenage years. It’s important for mothers to support their teen daughters, even if they don’t share their personal style.
While it’s natural for teens to keep secrets from their parents, you can engage with your teenage daughter in many ways to improve communication. Try engaging with your teen in a variety of ways and being open to their preferences and pace.
Also, how you react when they do share with you is crucial. If your teen has seen you listen to them share something vulnerable and then use it against them, punish them for it, or be overly sympathetic or worried, they will be less likely to open up in the future.
Even if your teenage daughter doesn’t say so, she still values what you think. She might not ask for your opinion a lot of the time, but whenever she has a big decision to make, she comes to you for advice. She may not always have the opportunity or the right words to tell you that.
You might think your teenage daughter pays attention to nothing beyond the screen of her smart phone, but she knows a lot more than you give her credit for. It is better to involve your teenage daughter in open conversations about important family issues than try to sweep them under the carpet.
Every generation of teenage girls faces different issues and challenges. Today’s teens are growing up in a digital age, where things change quickly and pressures are immense.
It’s difficult to relate to communicating and socializing via Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram when email wasn’t even an option in your own teen years.
It’s impossible for parents to fully understand how important social media is to teenagers. They need to keep connected through all those different platforms, and because it’s so visual, there’s extra pressure to look good.
You might not ever figure out Snapchat, but you can educate yourself to help your teenage daughter stay safe online.
It’s natural to want your teenage girl to cover up, but it can be dangerous to make a bigger deal out of her outfit choices than necessary. When your teenage daughter chooses her outfit for the day, she may just be trying to fit in with what everyone else wears.