In an attempt to improve discipline in teenagers, parenting techniques applied by parents tend to focus on rules and consequences. It is no wonder that many parents are likely to change their parenting styles when their children reach adolescence. It is a huge challenge for parents to parent their teenagers while also having their own responsibilities.
Read also: Definitions of Teenagers According to Experts and WHO
It is known that teenagers are dealing with unstable and erratic emotions and that they also don’t understand what they’re feeling. As a parent, of course, you may find it hard to be on the same page as your teenager. In addition to disciplining your teens, they also actually need your attention and understanding to better understand how they feel.
Thankfully! This post will show you five effective ways to discipline your teenager. With a lot of patience, we think that you will manage to discipline your teenager easily and effectively. The following are five effective ways to discipline your teenager:
1. Always explain what your rules aim to
When setting the rules, it’d be better for you to always explain the purposes of each. If you clearly explain why your rules exist, they are more likely to understand and follow them without coercion.
The parent’s rules sometimes cause their teenagers to be isolated. They may not feel free to do what they want or need due to your very strict rules. Furthermore, they may feel that their existence is not valuable anymore.
2. Make sure to create consequences appropriately
Every consequence you create should be in accordance with how fatal their mistake was. It is not fair to punish people for their actions all the time. Instead of giving them punishment, you can open a discussion and try to talk to them deeply.
If you make them suffer consequences in accordance with their bad behavior, it may lead them to reflect and think more about their mistakes. Basically, the more natural the consequences, the more effective they will be in preventing their unacceptable behavior.
3. Try to create collaboration
Creating collaboration aims to help them understand your perspective and learn that they need to give and take. This can also help them understand more and more that every action will have its own consequences.
Furthermore, they will understand that if they behave positively, they can expect positive outcomes in the future. Otherwise, they will face negative consequences if they behave negatively. So, make sure to always let them know in advance that you want them to be cooperative.
4. Take away your teenager’s privileges
It is well known that punishing children too frequently may no longer be effective. That’s why the consequences set by parents should be carried out precisely. The best alternative you can do is to try to take something that they love, such as gadgets or consoles, or even just hang out with their friends.
Before taking their privileges, you need to inform them about what their parents are planning. By doing this, they can consider whether or not the loss of privileges is worth it. For example, if they don’t do their homework, you can try to take their gadgets for a full day. Remember not to use this method for an extended period of time in order to maximize the effectiveness of the results.
5. Always reinforce your consequences
If you really want to discipline your teenager effectively, never let your consequences fall off. In other words, you may have to reinforce your consequences to allow them to obey the agreed-upon rules.
Communication is the first step in reinforcing your consequence.Good communication is an effective way to clearly explain that you will always apply the agreed consequences.
The second method is to encourage them to think about and reflect on their behavior and how it can be improved in the future.Furthermore, you can try to talk to your teenager deeply about the agreements they have and what they think should happen as a consequence of breaking them. Of course, it can allow you to determine future consequences more fairly.
Okay, these are the five effective ways to discipline a teenager. Rules and consequences are a powerful tool for teaching teenagers discipline.Keep in mind that whatever method you use, you have to use it in accordance with the behaviors and mistakes they make.
