Parenting Skills

I was recently talking to an psychiatrist friend of mine who specializes in working with adolescents in a psych hospital. We were sharing parenting stories when he told me of several teenage patients that had been admitted to the hospital for suicidal ideation. When I asked him about the events that lead up to their crisis he replied, "Their parents took their cellphone as a consequence."

I was taken back a bit by this story. I asked him, "Why do you think that happened?" His opinion was that they felt completely cut off from friends and their support network. With no cell phones, they had no way to stay in contact with their support systems. He also felt that these kids were dealing with Major Depression. Click here for info on teen depression

I will give you an option to think about at the end of this blog.

As a parent of adult children, thank God they got through their teen years relatively intact, and as a Marriage a Family Educator I'd like to share some basic principles of parenting. These have been around for ever, but a little review won't hurt.

Last week, Todd Cook, my pastor, listed these in our services.

Here is the answer to "What kind of discipline is appropriate?

1. Spell out Expectations and rules for your kids before you try to enforce them with discipline.
2. Never discipline for Childish Mistakes or childhood forgetfulness.
3. Never discipline out of Anger
4. Always go from the mildest form of discipline to the more severe forms.

I like the term reality discipline which means let the discipline match the crime.

So, what about the cell phone. If you teen abuses the privilege you cut back their use. Do it in stages, like cutting them back for a few minutes a day, but measure your response. As a parent, you have the power to discipline your kids. Use it wisely. Click here for parenting tips