“Think Forward” Parenting a Teenager..Part Two.

If you read my part one blog and took my advice it’s guaranteed that your teenager has asked you to stop reading that crazy counselors blog. If so, keep up the good work. You can blame it on me all day.

The first part of navigating through parenting your newly terrible teen is about restablishing “Who the Boss?” This does not happen over night and can easily get worse for weeks before it gets better.

I have both been the boss professionally in the workplace and also have hated my boss in the workplace. Honestly, I have hated the majority of my bosses. It is not an easy job. You have to make hard decisions and that means you are likely to make somebody mad. Guess what your teen is not happy with you being their boss. Just tell them to get use to it. They will have worse ones in the future.

But guess what..If your teen really wants to be the boss of their own lives or other people’s lives they absolutely can and this is how they do it..You learn the important skill of how to “Think Forward.”

Your teenager is going to be their own boss in less than 4 years regardless…you have this amount of time or less to make sure they can succeed.

I work with a wide range of individuals seeking Life and Career Counseling. I have High Powered Attorneys that make 1 million a year and have a goal of reaching 5 million a year. I have really creative client’s that have a goal to write a novel but do not know where to start? I also have an increasingly amount of adolescents and young adults that look at me with a blank look totally confused when I ask them what is your goal?

And this is how I explain goals to adolescents….it is a good analogy for teens because they are all about cars and driving at this age.

Life is like driving a car. You have to know where your going before you get in the car or else you either just sit there or you drive around aimlessly. Life is the same way. What is your next destination in Life? Do you need some directions to get there?

Education is the equilvant to driver school. You have to know how to drive your car, gain lots of practice driving and learning all the rules of the roadway. But you can can start planning your awesome cross country road trip right now!!

Finishing College is passing your drivers test and having no wrecks or accidents for 2 years. This shows you are a good driver and are making smart decisions on the road. But that’s it. Passing your test is not the end it’s just the beginning. Where are you going to go? Have you googled your route? Who’s going with you? How will they help you get there? Got gas money?

Adolescents have got to learn how to “Think Forward” just like every time they get in a car. You and your teen should be talking about what they will be doing 4 years from now..Seventh and Eighth graders need to be setting a high School GPA goal, planning AP classes, how to make the varsity cheerleading team. Ninth and tenth graders need to set a goal GPA to get into the college they want the most. Eleventh and Twelveth graders need to explore what they are professionally interested in doing and setting goals to shadow and interview other professionals in all those fields.

Instilling forward thinking at an early age will get your teeneager into a pattern of always thinking about the next direction in life. They will gain confidence every time they keep moving up the ladder of their goals. The ladder never runs out of rungs in Life.

If your having a hard time and just need a good pep talk call me and schedule an appointment. Moms I get it 100%. Its really hard being a good boss when all your employee’s hate you…