Your household is bursting with hormones, silent stares of anguish and a teenager that doesn’t really want to listen to what you have to say. Parenting a pre-college teen is no walk in the park. As a parent you always want the best for your child, so it’s important to consider how you can help them towards their goals in the least invasive and pushy way.
When it comes to parenting you want to guide them towards making good decisions, rather than forcing them into doing something they don’t want to. With the following ideas in mind you will be one step closer to achieving your parenting goals with your pre-college teen.
Help With College Admissions
Like any other parent, you want to create the best possible opportunities for your teenagers and this includes their education. There is a lot you can do to help them discover their pathway to college, from helping them with their admissions essays to encouraging them to take on extra curricular activities. You may also want to work with a reputable college admission consultant to help you overcome the increasingly competitive undergraduate admissions process. When it comes to getting accepted into top schools and elite colleges additional advice and support could go a long way.
Give Them Some Independence
When you’re raising a teenager who is about to head off to college, you need to allow them a level of independence. It may be that they’re now used to going out and about on their own or driving around with friends, but are they independent around the home? Encouraging them to cook dinner, do their own laundry and take responsibility for their chores around the home will be a huge helping hand when it comes to moving to college and living without their parents.
Show Them That You Trust Them
You need to show your teenager that you trust them to do so-called “adult” things such as go grocery shopping, go out with their friends or run important errands. As a parent you always want to make sure everything is done correctly, but it doesn’t allow your teenagers to make mistakes and learn from them.
Think about how you can give certain responsibilities to your teenagers so they are well-equipped for college life. Whether they’re taking on the weekly grocery shop by themselves or you leave them with an important task to complete around the house, this will help them to feel confident when moving out to college.
Overall
Over the years, your teenager is going to make mistakes along the way, and it’s your job to teach them how to move on from their past. It can feel like a tricky process, especially when you want to protect your child at all costs; even teenagers need love and support to guide them to a bright future. Parenting a teenager will never be easy, but when you do your best to give them space, independence and a non-judgmental environment they are destined to thrive in whatever they do in the future.
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