Raising Teens: How Dads Can Play A Role
You expect something, they do something else. You ask for an explanation, they ignore you. You say, “You’re not allowed to do this,” they say, “Stop me if you can!”
Teen behavior can be challenging to cope with for parents, and when the defiant ones near the age of 18 or 19, you just can’t bribe them with chocolate anymore, or put them to nap and breathe a sigh of relief.
While adolescents don’t need to be supervised as much as younger kids, fathers need to be physically present and talk to teens about a number of issues.
Rebellion
Society’s expectations of the male gender may lead some boys to engage in rebellion. Teens who are expected to do well at everything, such as relationships, may rebel or withdraw due to being overwhelmed. And boys may become frustrated when the independence they expect isn’t granted.
You might be surprised to discover that your talkative little tike has now become someone who is reluctant to communicate with you. Teen boys like to respond to every question with a few word answers, and attempts to get more information out of them might be dealt with anger or annoyance.
Co-occurring disorders
This is when the teen goes through two different conditions; substance dependence and a mental ailment. This means that a teenage boy suffering from anxiety disorders and depression may also engage in substance abuse; as a result he could be diagnosed with a co-occurring condition during diagnosis for treatment.
Research revealed that teens who suffer from dual diagnosis may be going through the following conditions: high intake of drugs lead to their mental ailment, deviant behavior of friends can have a negative impact on both conditions, and the intention to outperform in activities such as sports can lead to the aggravation of both conditions.
Social media dependency
Social media is a great way for teens to make friends and connect with influencers, but excessive use of this platform can lead to negative consequences. One survey found a positive relationship between teenage social media use and drug abuse. Those who use social media to interact every day are 5 times more likely to take drugs. The data made sense as those exposed to pictures and results are more likely to experiment in teen years.
So regardless of the genes possessed by a teenager, increased social media use with already prevalent peer pressure only increases the pressure to try new things. Apart from drug abuse, constant exposure to adult content may lead teen boys to engage in unprotected sex and other unsafe activity.
What can you do as a father?
There are several steps you can take to help your child overcome teenage woes. For instance, you can educate them about improper social media images, or implement parental controls to ensure your child stays away from inappropriate content.
Treatment options for men or young adults makes it easy for parents to help their children overcome troubles like co-occurring disorders. Self-diagnosis may not work, as it is often challenging to find out the exact cause of substance abuse in a teen who is dually diagnosed. However, a proper treatment center can help them overcome abuse without prescription drugs.
And just like treatment centers, parents can educate children about self-patience and politeness by enrolling them in specialized programs to reduce rebellious behavior.
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