Parenting and Teenagers

An excerpt from the Positive Discipline for Teenagers book by Dr. Jane Nelsen and Lynn Lott.

REMEMBER WHEN YOUR teen was a baby just learning to walk? What a milestone. You didn‘t want to miss any of it, and you were very supportive and encouraging. You would take her little hands in yours and start walking along with her—but you knew you had to let go in order for her to walk by herself. You also knew she might fall when you let go, but you had faith that this was just part of the process. So, you let go, and she took a few wobbly steps and fell. What did you do? You probably encouraged, Look what you did You took a few steps. You can do it. Let ‘s try again. You were both having a great time. When she got tired of the game and didn’t want to practice walking anymore, you backed off and waited awhile. You knew she would master walking in time, and you were having a ball supporting her in the process.