5 Things You Need To Know Before Your Child Becomes A Teen

Before my kids went to school today, they asked for an advanced permission for a weekend “pasyal” with their friends, after all, the exams will be over by then. Until now, I can’t still believe that my kids are already in this stage when “letting go” bit by bit is unavoidable. Teen parenting is getting tougher as years pass by and not only because of these “going-out” thing with other people.

When I got pregnant, I thought our love and devotion to our kids will be enough to guide us as a parent. But with the changing times, parenting gets more complicated and there are more things required from us parents to support our kids into growing into the best persons they can be.
If you happen to have kids who are just turning teens or are already teens, I want to share with you some things that I myself, is still learning and trying to develop as a parent.

1. Letting go is tough but a necessary skill to develop for us parents.
2. It’s important to help our kids learn from their own decisions. When they don’t study and prioritize internet, they will learn how difficult it is to stay up to finish their homeworks.
3. Our children knows things more than we credit them for. Investing time for talking, “cheesy talk”, “parent talk”, “teen talk” whatever you call them, our kids can still absorb and learn things from these occassions.
4. Even parents need to learn to say sorry, and yes, our kids can easily forgive.
5. Parenting is more about becoming a good teacher, not a friend nor a dictator. We need to set clear boundaries even though it hurts sometimes. Sometimes we have this urge to be their close friends but because they are immature, the boundaries become blurred and they lose respect.

What about you? How are you as a parent? What are the things you wish you knew before you became a parent?