Advice for Dealing With Teenage Drama
If you're the parent of a teenager, it's hard to watch them suffer through drama. We all remember what it felt like to be wrapped up in social dramatics during middle school and high school: The pain of fighting with friends, struggling to fit in and find a sense of belonging, and feeling like the world might end when nothing seemed to be going right.
With that type of understanding, it's hard not to get involved when your child is dealing with drama! You feel like your help can take away the pain and stress.
But, plenty of parents become a little too involved and struggle to support their teens without inserting themselves into the situation. If this is a dilemma you can relate to, this article was written for you.
First things first, stay calm
When your teen comes to you with a problem or begins misbehaving because of the drama in their life, try to keep your cool. If you yell, get worked up, or otherwise match your child's heightened emotional state it will only escalate the situation.
Explain that you'd love to talk about things when your teen has calmed down. Take a few deep breaths, go for a walk, and agree to revisit the conversation a bit later.
Never tell your teen they're overreacting
When dealing with drama, it's important to validate your child's emotions. Even if you think they're overreacting about the latest happenings at school, withhold judgment.
Make sure they know it's okay to feel frustrated, upset, and angry, but these feelings aren't an excuse for poor behavior. You might even help your teen learn how to label and understand their feelings, which is an excellent way to demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms and emotional regulation.
Don't ignore bullying
If you know or suspect that the drama in your teen's life has resulted in bullying, whether they're being bullied or are doing the bullying, please know that it's okay to speak up. Start by talking with your teen about bullying. You may also want to learn more about dealing with bullying — here's a quick article that explains 5 Smart Ways to Deal With a Bully .
Don't try to solve the problem
This last piece of advice is perhaps the most important, but also the most difficult to put into practice. Instead of telling your child what to do or trying to get involved in another way, work on problem-solving skills so that they can fight their own battles.
To start, you can brainstorm solutions together and talk about the different choices available to resolve the situation. This empowers your teen to take control of their decisions, and their self-confidence will grow as a result. These skills may even help your child avoid drama in the future.
Counseling can also be helpful when trying to navigate these tricky developmental years. To learn more about how Foundations Counseling can help your teen, join us for a complimentary initial consultation. Just fill out this form to get started.
