Parenting Today's Teens with Mark Gregston

Teen Peer Pressure (7-15-2011) The peer pressure we knew when we were young is different than the peer pressure our teens face.  Let me share the differences with you. Back when I was growing up, when my friends and I wanted to do wrong, we all knew it was wrong.  There was a constant sense of looking over our shoulders to see if someone was watching us. Today, when our kids are pressured to do things that go against our family’s values, more than likely their peers consider it “normal” behavior.  They don’t see anything wrong with it, so they don’t understand why your teen would have any problem with it.  That change makes peer pressure much harder for your teen to resist.

Tension in the home by Mark Gregston

When I was growing up, we often would sit around the dinner table and eat an entire meal without saying a word. There was a lot of tension in my parent’s home.  It hovered over every meal and family gathering like the cloud over the “Pig Pen” Peanuts comic character.  But it wasn’t comical, not for us kids.  We couldn’t wait for the day we could leave home. If there is something causing tension in your family, I suggest you find the cause and address it. Tension in the home is like stretching a rubber band.  Sooner or later, if the tension isn’t released, it will snap, and the one to be hurt by it will likely be you.

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.”C. S. Lewis

 Are you shutting out God’s voice in your teenager’s life?
The natural tendency of parents is to protect their kids from pain.  But they need to recognize that pain is a tool that causes the teen to question their current circumstances and reevaluate their goals and methods.
We don’t want to see our children in pain, so we bail them out. But it’s best to not interfere, since avoiding pain today allows childish thinking and foolish behavior to continue tomorrow. Don’t think of consequences as punishments, but as tools designed to help your teen make better choices.