In the summer months, we will be focusing on two topics:

1.  Stay-At-Home Activities for Kids:

Stay-At-Home Activities for Kids, Part 1

Stay-At-Home Activities for Kids, Part 2

Stay-At-Home Activities for Kids, Part 3

Stay-At-Home Activities for Kids, Part 4

    2.  Teenagers: (This is the fifth of seven posts on teenagers; prior posts are below.)

How COVID-19 “Stay-At-Home” Time Can Improve Parenting Teens

What You Need to Know About Teenagers

13-Year-Olds: Who They Are and How to Talk to Them

14-Year-Olds: Who They Are and How to Talk to Them

What 15-year-olds can be like when struggling to grow-up:

• Have a chip on their shoulder

• Would rather be right than successful

• Act like a bully

• Are angry at times when they should be scared or sad

• Think they are the most important person in the world

• Are afraid to be angry

• Go along with things without thinking

• Are afraid of anger from other people

• Allow friends to tell them what to do

• Say no without thinking

How to talk to 15-year-olds – let them know:

• You are glad they are good thinkers.

• It’s OK for them to be angry and you will show them how to be angry without hurting themselves or others.

• Breaking rules does not make them bad people, but it will mean they have to pay the unpleasant consequences.

• It is OK for them to think differently than you do, but the rules still have to be followed.

• They can be good thinkers even when they are mad, sad, glad, or scared.

• They can ask for help.

• You will love them even when they think differently than you.

Remember, giving your child the above messages should only be done when you really mean them. If the time or situation is not right, wait until they are. If you find it hard to give these messages most of the time, figure out how you can help yourself believe the messages and give them freely (get some help, rest, information, therapy, etc.)

Based on concepts in Growing Up Again, Jean Illsley Clarke and Connie Dawson