The last few weeks I have been asking myself “Can I really survive these teen years?” After lots of reading and journaling I have decided that many parents have before me and many parents will after mine have grown and my kids are going through this with their children. So in short YES we all can and will survive these teen years.

Dealing with a teen with any type of depression or anger issue is rough, not just for the teen but for the whole family. During this time it’s best to do your best to be patient, listen to your teen, get as involved in their lives as possible as well as do what you can to keep the lines of communication open. Even when they are not actively listening or acting like they care what you are saying in reality they are. If you think back to when you were a teen you may not have really listened to what your parents were saying but you did hear, and many times you took those words to heart and it helped make the right choices down the road.

One thing I think we often forget is teens may look and sometimes act like adults they are still children inside, going through many changes that come along with growing up. It happens so fast everything gets very confusing as to what is going on and what they are feeling it’s hard to understand. So trying to be understanding put yourself at their mentality level may help you to understand what it is they are going though right now, this also helps make it easier to offer advice and support.

Something else I have learned is there is no blanket answer to every problem for every child. This is something I have known but it is something that is good to be reminded of. It’s good to talk with others about the problems you are having and possibly discuss what they have found to work for their child and try it or change it a little to see if it will work with your teen.

Just make the most that you can out of these years and be there for them as much as possible. If you’re wondering about ways to help more there is an ebook I have just finished on Dealing with Teen Anger and Depression. I am also in the process of starting a blog to share what I am learning through these crazy teen years to help other parents with tips and ideas that I have heard and I am using that have helped me and others.