Our Approach
The foundation of our approach is to promote both healthy, consistent parenting practices and healthy youth development.
- Be at the top of the family hierarchy
- Never give up teaching and modeling appropriate behavior
- Establish appropriate, clear rules and expectations
- Provide consistent accountability and consequences
- Provide opportunity to appropriately resolve problems
- Consider utilizing outside support when appropriate
- Consider more serious interventions when necessary
Changing Behavior
Changing behavior can be hard at times but not impossible.
Parent behavior and approach is the most important factor associated with juvenile behavioral change. In our experience, following through with a consequence and being consistent is vital in the hopes of changing behavior. We want you to have a healthy relationship with your children. Healthy comes in many different forms, and holding kids responsible for negative behavior is essential for encouraging healthy behavior.
The hard work of being a parent is drawing the line. The teenager is still learning, and learns from taking responsibility. He still needs his parents’ careful vigilance, guidance, and boundaries so that he does not go too far astray.
A healthy adolescent is supposed to push for all the freedom to grow that he can get as soon as he can get it, and healthy parents are supposed to restrain that push within the interests of safety and responsibility.
Adolescents are famous for giving their parents grief, so you know you’re not alone in finding it hard to parent a teenager.
