Parenting Teens: Challenges and Concerns

Do you worry about how to help your child get through the teen years and make good decisions?
Do you worry about your teen’s behaviors, moods, stresses?
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by dealing with your teen’s school and social pressures?
 

Join a  Small Group Discussion Series
Led by Sherry Pomerantz, PhD
The sessions are designed to empower you as a parent with strategies to help your child and to offer alternative approaches when the guidance from parenting books isn’t working
 

For information, fee, and to register:
(610) 664-8519
or
EMAIL

Adolescence is an ever-changing stage of development, which has been described as the stage of “storm and stress.” In recent years, with the recognition of brain development and other bodily changes continuing through to the middle 20’s, the stage has lengthened from the beginning of puberty, which can begin at age 10, to the mid-20’s.
 

Over this time period there are a number of changes the teen experiences, including physical and sexual development, development of cognitive function, identifying a work/interest direction, and maturing toward a close emotional relationship. Each of these tasks presents its own challenge, from dealing with raging hormones and other physical changes in shape and height in early adolescence, to appreciating the ability to use abstract reasoning (sometimes characterized by an adolescent seemingly arguing for the sake of argument), and dealing with the discrepancy between maturity in thinking about ideas and ability to censor when appropriate (e.g., I shouldn’t do X because it will lead to a problem). As a result, it is a time of excitement and thrill-seeking, coupled with impulsive decision making.
 

With all the pressures on adolescents and their ever-changing world, it is increasingly difficult for parents to know how to best to parent and what guidance to give their children. Parents often express anxiety about their child’s adolescence, anticipating that it will be a difficult stage, and feeling lost about boundaries for conversations and teen privacy. Parents’ own experiences as adolescents have some relevance for their children, but changes in technology, society, and parenting styles lead to many parents feeling unsure of rules to set and ways to best help their child.
 

Although there a number of resources to address concerns, it is often useful to have support from other parents and to have the opportunity to explore some of the concerns in more detail. To that end, I am offering a Small Group Discussion series for Parents of Teens. The sessions are designed to provide information on critical topics and to provide the opportunity for sharing concerns and strategies to broaden parenting options.