Teen Issues # 4 – Boundaries
All teenagers want the freedom to do what they want when they want. They need to learn that freedom is earned and that they can gain freedom by demonstrating responsibility. Adolescence is the time in life when kids are supposed to learn this lesson.
By the same token, parents need to be able to recognize when they are being over controlling and when they are being responsible and appropriate about saying “no”. They need to be able to make this distinction in order to do their job: helping teens learn responsibility and self-control so that they use freedom appropriately in the real world. To do this, parents must help teens learn boundaries.