Parenting Resources For Difficult Teens

Parenting Resources

Parenting is a tough gig, and it can get even tougher when your child is in their teenage years when raging hormones and crushing social pressure make “normal” a moving target. You’re going to need some resources providing straight talk on the pleasures and pitfalls of raising a healthy adolescent. Fortunately, a number of websites do just that. We’ve listed 4 of our favorite parenting resources below.

If your teen is struggling with serious mental health or behavioral issues, you may want to consider sending them to a residential treatment center for troubled teens. Early intervention can do wonders when it comes to getting a young life back on track.

1. Aha! Parenting

AhaParenting.com is an information-rich site offering advice on raising kids of all ages. You can click on tabs directing you to articles regarding tweens, young teenagers 13 to 15 and older teenagers aged 16 to 18.

Created by a clinical psychologist, the focus of Aha! Parenting is positive parenting. Proponents of positive parenting set rules and consequences and engage in follow-through when rules are broken. Putative measures, however, such as yelling and corporal punishment are avoided.

If you have a troubled teen on your hands, it can be tough to avoid shouting matches. Still, keeping the lines of communication open is crucial.

Aha! Parenting gives great directions on specific topics, like how to talk to kids about alcohol, as well as more general guidelines.

2. Raising Children

As the URL indicates, raisingchildren.net.au is an Australian site. Don’t worry, though. Just because it’s produced Down Under doesn’t mean this resource will upend your parenting style. It has quite a bit of valuable advice for those in the thick of raising teens ages 12 to 18.

One of the best aspects of the Raising Children site is that there’s a whole section dealing with mental health. There are articles on detecting and dealing with issues like teen depression and anxiety and an array of troubling behaviors.

The tone of the articles, such as one on when your troubled teen engages in self-harm, is pitch-perfect. Rather than being alarmist, it stresses that it’s normal for young people to have strong feelings that are difficult to deal with. At the same time, it highlights the seriousness of rituals like cutting, encouraging parents to intervene early and seek professional support for their struggling teens.

3. Raising Teens: A Site For Parents Of Teens Striving For Sanity

Can you keep a level head while raising your teen? It’s enough to make a parent feel lost at times, but the Raising Teens blog provides a pretty good roadmap.

Created by mom bloggers Cindy Goodman and Raquel Alderman, the Raising Teens blog has a conversational tone and addresses topics that will sound eerily familiar to anyone raising a teenager. Posts cover everything like relatively benign but crazy-making teen behavior like “earphone silence” as well as more serious problems like what to do if your teen is smoking pot.

4. Your Teen Magazine

YourTeenMag.com is a comprehensive site on navigating the teen years, from your child’s first day in middle school to the moment they leave the nest.

Many of the articles cover little-discussed topics, like the very real problem of boys developing eating disorders. Eating disorders are typically seen as something affecting only girls, but many troubled teen boys also engage in unhealthy behaviors like food avoidance, excessive exercise and purging.

This article—and others on the site—are solution-based rather than just anecdotal, providing warning signs as well as direction, in this case scheduling an evaluation for your son as soon as possible.

The above resources can provide significant guidance when it comes to surviving those tumultuous teenage years. Sometimes, however, a family can find themselves in a situation no mere article can address.

If your son’s issues are threatening his future and wreaking havoc on your home, you may want to consider sending him to a boarding school for troubled teen boys. Spending time in a safe place that offers therapeutic and academic support can help a teen in crisis move onto a bright future.

Request Free Admissions Information

Step 1 of 3 - Your Contact Info

Written by Natalie

29 Oct, 2018

Recent Posts

What to Do When Your Teen Becomes Violent

Coming face-to-face with your violent teenager can be terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. Confronting a teenager who could potentially hurt themselves or others around them is difficult but you don't have to do it alone.  There are safe ways that you can...

How Can You Prepare Your Teen to Attend Day Treatment for Behavior

Are you at your wits end with your teenager's bad behavior? Fortunately, there are many programs and support for parents to help them deal with children who have behavioral issues. One of the ways you can help your child is by sending them for day treatment.  However,...

What is Daily Life Like at Residential Treatment?

The purpose of a residential treatment center is to provide a troubled teenager with a structured daily routine. This is so teens can focus on their goals which is to heal and overcome their addictions or behavioral problems.  If you're a parent who doesn't fully know...

How Residential Treatment Has Improved Teen Behavioral Issues

There are times when teenagers need more intensive care than a weekly counseling session at school. Residential treatment centers have a proven track record of improving teen behavioral issues and preventing relapses when it comes to substance abuse.  This is because...

What is Social Media Doing to Todays Teens?

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can be a place for teenagers to showcase their skills and connect with others. However, there are dark sides to social media that parents should be aware of.  As a parent, you should consider the risks...

How are Residential Treatment Centers Addressing Teen Mental Health?

Dealing with a teenager who has a mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, or bipolar can be difficult for a parent. You may not know what to do or how to support your teenager when they're experiencing rapid mood changes or even psychosis.  That's...

What are the Signs Your Teen Needs Help?

It can be difficult for parents to determine whether their teenager has mental health challenges or if they're going through a phase. As children become teenagers their personalities begin to change and they may become more moody or aggressive.  However, there are...

How do you Determine the Best Schools For a Troubled Teen?

Standard schools aren't always suitable for troubled teens because they don't provide the right programs and discipline that these types of youth need. A public school's function is to teach children their subjects so they can pass and get into college one day. ...

Teen Sexuality Troubles?

Adolescence is a transformative time, with sexuality emerging as a natural part of development. However, navigating this new aspect of life can be complex for both teens and their parents. In this post, we'll delve into understanding teen sexuality and explore...

You May Also Like…

No One Likes Me, How Do I Fit In?

No One Likes Me, How Do I Fit In?

When you find it difficult to make friends, it can feel like you’re alone and no one likes you. While it’s true that...

Teens and Drug Experimenting

Teens and Drug Experimenting

Teen drug experimentation can sometimes be considered harmless, but that is incorrect. Many teens who experiment with...

How to Protect Teens Online?

How to Protect Teens Online?

Have you met up in person with people you’ve met online? It seems like many of us have, in one way or another. Today,...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *