It Helps to Have a Parenting Philosophy
Category: Parenting -
Teen Years
...There is no single best parenting philosophy, but
my experience as a family therapist leads me to
caution against the extremes. For example, when
parents grossly underemphasize individual
freedom and overemphasize family belonging,
they usually end up with teens that are compliant but
can’t think for themselves or teens that are
rebellious and reject the family standards. On the
other hand, parents who grossly
underemphasize family belonging and
overemphasize individual freedom usually end
up with teens that look outside the family for a
place to belong. They usually find belonging either
within the fellowship of other lost and unsupervised
teens or in an organized group that—for better or
worse—becomes their surrogate family. Avoid the
extremes when developing your philosophy of
parenting...
