It is her fault she is tired, she stayed up too late

Once teens are in senior high school their bed time changes because they self regulate to achieve everything. While parents might not be saying ‘bed time now’ like they did a few years before, ideally the foundations of needing a good night’s rest have already been set.

It is still vital for parents to check in and know what teenagers are staying up and doing. Parents still have the responsibility  to ensure their child or teenager is taking care of his or herself.

I often hear parents say: “It’s Suzie fault she is tired, she stayed up too late.” Parents still have responsibility because while teenagers are becoming responsible, this takes time and we all need good management staff! Or when it comes to eating a healthy diet: “It’s Shane’s problem that he doesn’t eat a healthy dinner.” It is not just Suzie or Shane who need to adjust their habits, it’s their parents too. I don’t think it’s ever okay to make our teenager’s bad choices totally their responsibility, because what are we doing to set a positive example or to help? It is easy to feel angry that they are not listening, but maybe their is a different approach to take. I feel like parents have a child’s whole primary and high school life to keep trying to instil those important values for life.

– Introduce organisation skills early and help them know their responsibilities at home and school – a diary can help and folders at home and school for each subject.

– Respect for others and themselves – it’s easy to blame others if things are going right for us, but we need to see what we can do to improve things.

– Make sure the whole family is involved in being organised and having good routines – dinner menus and shopping for food as a family, can ensure positive eating habits are maintained and from time to time your teenager might need guidance: “I organise my documents like this, I can help you organise yours?”

Positive dialogue when our teenagers are not making positive choices is more beneficial because remember we brought them into this world and they have learnt most of their habits from us!