While the aunts in your family might team up to give you the best parenting advice, no one can truly broth a soup for parenting.
We spoke to Dr Meghna Prabhu, a practising psychologist and Dr Devika Nag, head of department, neurology and psychology, at KGMU. The two psychologists have a few tips. Whether you’re a parent that’s dealing with a rebellious teen or a quiet one, these tips will help you navigate through your teenager’s moods.
Books vs Technology
Ensure that your kid has a balanced exposure towards both. Instead of handing them a new phone, hand them a book. Children learn from what we do. You can’t expect them to hug a book to bed if we’re glued to our own devices. It’s more about creating the right environment rather than baselessly imparting wrong lessons. But, you can’t completely eradicate technology in today’s world, so instead utilise it to its right potential by perhaps using it as a tool to give them exposure, play educational games, attend online classes, among other things.
Eliminating Comparisons
Comparing your child to someone else’s might be right on some part, but holistically thinking, it degrades the child’s self-confidence. Not every child is born only to be a doctor or excel only in studies. In any case, comparison only does harm than good. Understand the individuality and encourage your child’s unique potentials.
Nuclear Families And Its Challenges
Nuclear families often deprive the child of the wisdom from the elderly or the capers with the siblings. If yours is a nuclear family, make sure your child mingles with others on a regular basis for healthier exposure. Social interactions pave the way to a broader and wiser mentality of your child.
Siblings
Nothing can provide the pillar of strength to your child other than their own siblings. Siblings form the essential group that caters to a mutual level of learning and growth in a playful atmosphere. So, let your child mingle with their kin and see the development it reaps.
Guidance
Ultimately, your child is like a voyager in the sea. You’re the sole guidance, till they form other mentor or guardian relationships. Realise the difference between guiding and pressurising and then carve your kid’s abilities.
