Feeling troubled about your teen? The Engaging Adolescents parenting course is for you

As we highlighted in a previous blog post, parenting is one of the most significant roles and responsibilities we can have in life. It can be immensely rewarding, full of special moments, and gives our us a deep sense of purpose. But it can also be incredibly hard, relentless and full of challenges.

To provide guidance and support for parents, Robertson & Ling run a variety of parenting programs, including Engaging Adolescents, a program aimed at parents with teenagers (13-19). So: when should you do Engaging Adolescents? Here are three reasons why it might be the right program for you and your parenting:

1. You’re finding it hard to understand your teenager
   The change from “child” to “teenager” can be a rather daunting one for parents to navigate. They’re witnessing rapid changes in their child, to the point that they can feel like a stranger. Engaging Adolescents provides great education on why this is occurring, gives parents practical help on how to tackle this developmental stage, and seeks to reduce parents feeling like the rug has been pulled out from underneath them.

2. You don’t know how to respond to your teenager’s behaviour - or what you’re doing isn’t working
   It’s common for teenagers to push the boundaries established by parents, and to engage in riskier behaviour as they seek to solidify their own identity. However, it can be hard for parents to know how to respond to this behaviour without making things more challenging, and to know which behaviours to address and which to ignore. Engaging Adolescents provides a great framework on how to handle these exact situations.

3. You’re finding it hard to stay connected with your teen
   Because of the above concerns, and because of a teenager’s desire to develop independence, it can be hard for parents to remain connected with their teenager. Engaging Adolescents provides strategies and ideas for parents to keep the connection going, but in a way that’s sensitive to a teenager’s developmental stage.

   To learn more about Engaging Adolescents, please visit our programs page. To read about the services that we offer at Robertson & Ling, such as marriage or couples counselling, you can go to our services page. If you are interested in a free 30 minute phone consultation to discuss your suitability for counselling, call Robertson & Ling on 0437 711 654. Alternatively, you can book a counselling appointment here.