Defiant Teens
Defiant Teens
we need to redo these bullet points
Modern teenagers have a reputation of being difficult to live with and difficult to parent. Here’s a partial list of the characteristics of teens that parents find frustrating and perplexing:
sullen
disrespectful
uncommunicative
argumentative
self-absorbed
unmotivated academically
forgetful
disorganized
unrealistic
expert at ‘‘pushing parents’ buttons’’
If you’re the parent of a teenager, you could probably add to this list!
Of course, these issues don’t paint the full picture. Your teen also has many positive qualities, but it can be hard to see them when you’re dealing on a daily basis with the above difficulties.
The teen years, and increasingly the ‘tween’ years, can certainly be very challenging. But most of the time, the issues are relatively straightforward, and parents feel able to cope, often turning for useful advice to family, friends, parenting books, and perhaps some Zoom consultations with Noël.
But with some teens, the severity of their problems escalate:
abuse of drugs, alcohol, tobacco
screen addiction
explosive anger
excessive risk-taking
self-harm
truancy or school refusal
physical aggression
crippling anxiety
deep depression
Parents aren’t coping. They’re desperate to help their teen function better and feel better, and to reduce stress on all family members.
Whether teen issues are mild or severe (or a baffling mixture), they’re usually caused by a combination of ‘nature’ (genetic predisposition) and ‘nurture’ (the teen’s environment - especially family, but also school, neighborhood, and ‘Screen World’).
For many centuries it was assumed that a person’s ‘nature’ was fixed. But we now know, thanks to advances in neuroscience, that the brain is a very malleable organ. The brain is constantly changing, constantly re-wiring itself, as a result of a person’s experiences, and even as a result of a person’s thoughts and emotions.
This is very good news for the parents of troubled - or troublesome – teens. It means that what parents do really does influence what their teen does, and ultimately even influences the kind of person their teen will become.
This is where Noël’s experience and expertise can be helpful.
The ‘Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting’ method guides parents of teens to do things differently in order to get a different result. The strategies that I teach parents work to bring out the best in your teenagers - and also in you!
Book an initial consultation with Noël
If you think you might benefit from our Intensive Parent Coaching, the first step is for you, and your partner if you have one, to schedule a 45-minute Initial Consultation with Noël.
At the Initial Consultation you’ll have the chance to ask Noël any questions you may have about our Intensive Parent Coaching, and she’ll ask both of you some questions to find out more about your family.
During the Initial Consultation Noël will begin advising you on how to use the ‘Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting’ strategies to improve your family’s issues.
At the end of the Initial Consultation, Noël will let you know if she thinks the Intensive Parent Coaching is right for your family.
The ‘Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting’ approach is practical, down-to-earth, and solution-oriented.
Click here to learn about the issues we address and some of the habits we teach parents.
