Youth | Teen Transition Time

Taking Time With Your Teen

Being a teenager these days is rough. Confronted daily with peer pressure, teens have to make a lot of tough choices. They may or may not know where you stand on many of these issues. As a parent it is your job to be available.

Take time to talk:

Your young person needs to converse with you. Take the time to discuss some of the issues they are facing. This is how they will learn what and how you feel about certain things.

Take time to listen:

So often we as adults get caught up in our busy lives and we fail to hear what our teens are trying to tell us. Stop, slow down and listen to your young person. What sort of decisions are they facing? This is an oppurtunity for you to gently guide them into making a wise choice.

Take time to work:

Working together on a project is a great time for bonding. Whether you are cleaning out the garage or washing the dishes after dinner, this time spent together working toward a common purpose will build a better relationship. Use this time to better know and understand your teen. Be real and let them get to know you too.

Take time to play:

Take time to have fun together. Everyone needs a break now and then. As the saying goes, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Just as working together forms strong bonds, playing together forms strong memories.

Be an important part of your teen’s life and help them grow into a better person.

Filed Under: Personal Development, Teen Milestones Tagged With: Adolescence, Peer pressure, Youth

Getting Your Teen Ready for High School

Going to high school is a major step in the lives of young people. To transition smoothly, they need to prepare both physically and emotionally. Here are some tips for getting your kids ready for high school.

Clothes Make the Teen

Going into high school means they are moving up into a different age bracket. Some of the clothes they may have previously worn may be considered too young by their peers. Sites such as Offers.com will have some great deals on back-to-school clothing. Buying more age proper clothes will help your almost-high school student feel more confident, which in turn will help her fit in with the other kids.

School Supplies

Obviously, students will need the usual kinds of school supplies that you have bought in earlier years. High school requires a few more items, depending on which classes are on your teen’s schedule. Make sure you contact the school to get a list of what you need to get. There is nothing more embarrassing for a teen than turning up to class and not having the required materials!

Spend the Day Together

Aside from spending time with your teen shopping for clothes and school supplies, organize a day of activities for just the two of you. You could go out to lunch to your son or daughter’s favorite restaurant or for a hike through a local forest. It will give your teen the opportunity to discuss any apprehensions he or she has and it will help bring you closer together.

High school is both exciting and nerve-racking for teenagers. These suggestions are stepping-stones to prepare your teen for high school.

Filed Under: Financial Trends, Personal Consumer Needs Tagged With: High school, Offers.com, Youth

Fun With Your Teen

Looking for something fun to do with your teen? Quality time spent with your young adult is hard to arrange at times. So it is important to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Go out for coffee. A trip to the local coffee shop for a cold/hot treat with a chance to just sit and chat is relaxing.

2. Take time to cook together. Make some homemade pizza or a taco salad with all the fixings. This time could also be a good learning experience for your young person.

3. Go shopping together. Be sure to shop for something that interests you both so one does not become bored quickly. No money? No problem, go window shopping. Pick out a room in the house that you would redecorate and plan together for fun.

4. Start a fun project together. Whether a wood-working project or scrap booking, find something that you both enjoy.

5. Go to the gym to exercise together. Break out the sweatpants, t-shirts and work up a sweat.

6. Read a book together. Find something that would be interesting to you both and read a chapter or more a day, taking turns reading.

Be sure at times to include your teen’s various friends. This will give you an oppurtunity to get to know them better.

1. Plan a picnic with games or pool time in the backyard.

2. Have a movie night with popcorn and pizza.

3. Have a karaoke night, laugh and have fun.

Take time to have fun with your young person. They grow up so fast.

Filed Under: Personal Development, Teen Milestones Tagged With: Shopping, Young-adult fiction, Youth