S.G.
Hi there,
boy I'm I to fimiliar with this issue, I have four boys (20,17,14, & 2) and one girl who's 7. Yes I had my share of my teens going through the same kinda thing. I'm basically raising them on my own since my husband's been in Iraq for 3 yrs now. I put my foot down and told them I'm the parent and you'er the child, if you live under this roof you go by my rules, you don't help out with the bills so what I say goes. I SHOW LOVE AND AFFECTION TO EACH ONE IN A CERTIAN WAY (SINCE THEY ARE ALL INDIVITUALS)I do things with them seperately, I have gotten my 17 yr old involved in a (church home group) that helps out alot! My 14yr old he's into skateboarding, so what I did with him was I took the one thing he likes the most away from him (the skateboard) My 20 yr old he's alot of help to me now. The main thing to do is sit with them 1 on 1 and have a heart to heart talk listen to what they have to say, come to an agreement, get involved in thier interests, meet your kids' friends'parents "that's very important. Kids seam to figure out what parents weaknesses are if parents let their guard down. Most important prayer works, and giving up shouldn't be an option. Always think positive! Hope some of what I've said comes in handy....