Youth behavior

Because high-risk behaviors can significantly impact the lives of youth and those around them, it’s essential that parents, educators and other concerned adults become aware of the prevalence, factors and solutions for high-risk behaviors.
Researchers suggest teens tend to maintain a close relationship with their family during adolescence.

As teens grow and have increased capacity for reasoning, self-discipline and independence, they begin to renegotiate, not break, relationships with family. This transition is only natural.
As parents start to experience the renegotiation, it’s important to remember that parents continue to be the most important relationship in their teens’ lives.
While conflict and resistance may arise when parents show concern or try to discipline their teens, parents should know that this is all part of the natural progression of relationships as their children grow.
Here are several parenting strategies that parents might find helpful:
— The most important thing parents can do for their adolescents is to listen to them. Parents must recognize and respect the value of what they say. It’s essential that teens understand they are being heard.
— Talking with teens doesn’t always have to happen on planned one-on-one serious talks. Teachable moments can occur any time and are the best times during the day to talk. Take advantage of windows of opportunity.
— It’s essential that parents pass along a strong sense of values. Parents must clearly communicate what their expectations are in terms of behaviors or values.
— Adolescence is a time of identity seeking and experimentation of roles. This can sometimes be baffling to parents. Parents should remember that youth questioning and exploration are essential.
Try not to make too much of issues that do not necessarily pose harm to youth, such as trying on new types of makeup or experimenting with hairdos, but watch out for behaviors that threaten a child’s or another’s safety.
— Parents need to accept that there will be times when adolescents will disagree with them and act as if they don’t like their parents. However, disagreements are normal and do not necessarily signal a negative relationship.
— Don’t avoid confrontation, but avoid useless arguing. Useless arguments are those that simply fuel hostility and have no real purpose.
— Parents get offended when children treat them discourteously, but they need to be careful that they don’t do the same to teens.
— No matter how hard parents try to protect their teens from risky behaviors, they can’t watch them 24 hours a day. However, parents can teach their children the skills to avoid risky situations.
They can talk about safe exit strategies from parties, strategies to refuse substances, healthy decision-making and learning to weigh risks and consequences versus rewards and benefits.
And, should negative consequences arise, parents should try to use those situations to help teens learn from experience.
— One effective way of discouraging engagement in negative behaviors is to encourage participation in positive activities such as volunteering in the community.
Adolescence is a unique period of the life span. It’s full of changes and challenges, but also of growth and opportunities.
Adolescents are particularly susceptible to high-risk behaviors, so parents and other concerned parents need to support youth as they go through this period.