Helping Our Teenage Children with Challenges

It's never easy watching your child face a challenge.  A parent's gut reaction is to protect them, shield them, make it all better.  However, that doesn't make them stronger and give them the knowledge of how to deal with the inevitable struggles of life, and more importantly, the confidence that they can persevere and succeed.

So what is our job as a parent? It's to be a sounding board when they want to talk about it.  To give them some practical advice on how to manage the situation they are dealing with.  Teenagers are in that precarious place of still being kids, but also beginning with adult responsibilities and needs.  Such as paying for their own car insurance and after school jobs.  They also do go to work, in a sense, five days a week.  For the most part school is their work right now.  Teenagers need to do well in school and most want to do well.  They know their future success and earnings depend on it.  They are also reviewed and judged in their "job" by endless tests, quizzes, and projects.

School challenges often make up a lot of the difficulties teenagers have with the ever looming question, "Are my grades good enough to get into college.  They are often required to take classes that aren't always within their strongest abilities or that they will ever use in their adult life.  When my children have faced school challenges, when I have tried to step in and micro manage the situation, "Mom to the rescue," I have often found that they have been dealing proactively with the problem.  Such as setting up an appointment for help with a teacher, before I ever had the chance to suggest it.

Most teenagers want to do well and they know how much doing well will positively effect their future.  Although, it doesn't always seem it, they have been paying attention to what you have been saying.  Starting in elementary school you have tried to show them right from wrong and the importance of doing their best in all that they do.  They still need you if only to be in the room as a reminder of those values.  As a parent you have given them that foundation and it will bear fruit in the high school years.

Our teenagers have persevered, and will continue to persevere, with the help of teachers, guidance counselors, friends and our support, which is ever present.  They are growing up and they are managing challenges, which will leave  them stronger and more capable for it.

Peace in My Life

I've always been looking for peace in my life.  Financial peace, job peace, etc. It was always when I have this amount of money I'll be at peace, or that job, or when the kids are out of college.  But, then I realized peace is now, it's a choice, you can't put conditions on it.  If you choose peace a lot of those issues will resolve themselves peacefully, because your whole attitude will change, and you will have the peace you seek.