One thing that is common among teenagers is their opposition to rules and boundaries. So, parents find it difficult to set boundaries for their teens and make them follow the rules. In their eagerness to assert their independence, many adolescents engage in risky behaviours like smoking, drinking and rash driving. What adolescents fail to understand is that rules and boundaries are the means by which parents try to control their teenagers’ risky behaviours. Parental boundaries slow down the speed with which teenagers want to change. This gives teenagers time to understand and adapt to the changes occurring within and around them before trying something new.

Most teenagers resent the idea of being asked to stay within set boundaries. Therefore, parents should let their teens know why setting boundaries is important and how it will help them. According to the article titled ‘Keeping Teens Healthy by Setting Boundaries’ in plannedparenthood.org, ‘It’s also helpful to involve our teens in setting rules for themselves. They will be more likely to respect the rules, feel respected, and respect us if they understand the reasons behind the rules and get to negotiate with us about them. We can revisit the rules from time to time with them as teens age and show increasing independence’.

But parents should also make it clear to their teens that when rules are broken, there will be consequences. These consequences should be in proportion to the type of the misdemeanour. If the response is too harsh, it may cause resentment. And if the response is mild, he will ignore the boundary.

Learn more about this sensitive issue by flipping through the pages of this ClipBook.