Anyone who has teens will know that they can be surprisingly difficult to deal with. Often, the joy of having younger children is suddenly overtaken by a different kind of child altogether. It can cause many problems in the family, and there can be plenty of challenges for them and you to get through. But being the parent of a teen is not too difficult, as long as you follow some basic rules. One of the most important things is knowing how to appropriately respond to their poor behavior - and you can be sure that there will be plenty of that. As long as you are prepared to deal with such circumstances, you can be sure that you can make the most of having teenagers. Let’s have a look at some of the most common teenage behaviors, and how to properly approach them.

Poor Diet Control

Something that is likely to crop up again and again with your teens is that they might have something of an inability to deal with their diet properly. Many teenagers find it a struggle to eat properly, and this problem can manifest in a number of ways. Most commonly, it will be a case of chronically undereating, but it might also be that they are overeating. In some cases, it might just be that the food they are eating is not very nutritious. Whatever the problem, you should be sure to do everything you can to help them manage their diets a little better. This might be easier than you think, so long as you know how to communicate with them about it. Try not to admonish them too much, but instead treat it as helping them to help themselves. Hopefully, they will understand that you are just trying to help - but if they don’t, try not to become disheartened. Instead, focus on simply helping them to make small changes to your diet.

A great way to help them along is to ensure that all the food you cook at home is as nutritious as possible and that there is a good amount of it. This doesn’t mean that you should never let them eat whatever they want, but you can at least focus on cooking food which is significantly healthier than what they might eat if they were left to their own devices. Diet is important because it affects so many other aspects of health. So make sure that you are doing everything you can to ensure that their diet control is as good as possible.

Lack Of Self-Care

It is not entirely uncommon for teenagers to stop properly looking after themselves when they hit a certain age. This is most common amongst boys, but girls can also display this kind of behavior. It often shows up as not washing regularly, but it could also be simple little things like wearing the same clothes many days in a row or not tidying up their room in a long time. When these behaviors start to show, many parents get worried - and it is easy to understand why they might. But it is vital at this point that you do everything you can to remain calm and in control, as this is the best way to be able to approach the problem head-on.

If they need some help with looking after themselves, you should try to be a little patient with them while still not being afraid to punish them if it goes too far. As long as you are doing it with love in mind, and you remind them that, then the results should be fairly good. You can’t force certain behaviors to change fast - often it is just a result of waiting until they leave those difficult times behind. But you can do whatever you can to help them get out of it faster, and that is the most important thing. Looking after themselves is hugely important, but sometimes they still need you to help them help themselves.

Smoking

Something which often begins at this kind of age is a smoking habit. It goes without saying that the vast majority of parents on the planet are concerned when this happens. But that doesn’t mean that it is the end of the world. You should do whatever you can to try and remain positive if your child starts smoking. For a start, it is likely that they will soon quit, and it is worth remembering that most teens only go through a phase of smoking. Relatively ew carry on with the addiction - but it’s not a risk you really want to take. You should make sure to encourage them to stop smoking as much as possible but bear in mind that this is one of those situations where a gentle approach is usually much more effective. By this, we mean that you should take care not to get too angry at them, as this will only encourage them to rebel against you and probably smoke all the more.

You can also help them to overcome the addiction, if they are already addicted, by using nicotine replacement substances such as aeolus v2 or gum or patches. This is better than smoking cigarettes and should help them to cut out the habit as soon as possible. This is a worrying situation indeed, but it is manageable if you approach it in the right way.

Swearing

No parent wants to hear their child use curse words excessively. When it begins to happen, as it often does in teenage years, it can be initially distressing. But as long as you keep your head about you, you should be able to put a stop to it pretty soon. Ultimately, you can’t control what they say when you are not around. What you can do is ask them to at least save you having to hear it. This is a politeness which you deserve, and it is important to remember that if this situation does crop up.