How to Motivate Your Teen Without Going Totally Nuts or Using Death Threats in 3 Simple Steps

Motivating a teen can be an incredibly difficult and frustrating process, often causing parents to resort to threats and anger. While this is a natural response, it is generally not the most effective way to bring about the changes you desire. Instead, you can use the steps we describe below to make the impact you desire while maintaining your calm. Just following these steps will quickly result in a big change in your son or daughter.

Zion Educational Systems counselors can assist you in the search to find help for teens when your patience has run out, call 866-471-8579.

Making An Impact On Your Son Or Daughter In The Right Way

1 – Open communication – When you are able to keep the lines of communication open and clearly relate why you have the expectations you do, it can make a huge difference. This is particularly true for academic performance. Because grades are so important and often neglected by adolescents × Adolescents
Adolescents /ad.o.les.cent/ n.Noun The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term adolescent as a young person living in the transitional period between the years of puberty and adulthood until they reach the age of full maturity. Adolescents or teenagers, are living in a turbulent and trying time in a person's lifetime. If ill prepared, teens may flounder or display negative behaviors at home. Adolescents are prone to negative behaviors such as, drug and alcohol abuse and other chemical dependencies, sexual misconduct or acting out, failing grades at school and disrespect towards authority. It is for this reason that parents of adolescents need to be particularly mindful when they reach their teenage years. If a teenager is struggling during thus time of adolescence it, is crucial for parents to seek the right care for their son or daughter.    During this time, people are typically more susceptible to negative behaviors and dangerous habits.
, using this technique can be an essential step in parenting.

2 – Positive reinforcement – Anger and threats are often the method that parents will use to achieve the behavioral results they desire in children. However, it has been clearly shown in numerous studies that this is not the most effective way to go about making a lasting change. Instead, relying on positive reinforcement is generally the best choice. In practice, this could mean offering some type of reward for positive behavior instead of punishment for misbehaving.

3 – Clear consequences × Consequences
n. noun con·se·quences The Merriam- Webster dictionary provides the following definitions for consequences: 1.the effect, result, or outcome of something occurring earlier: The accident was the consequence of reckless driving. 2.an act or instance of following something as an effect, result, or outcome. Consequences is a prevalent issue in the life of a troubled teen. Troubled adolescents who suffer from negative consequences, do so because of their poor decision making. Whatever choice a teenage boy or girl decides to make, a consequence of that decision will soon follow. If a teen chooses to make productive choices in life, he/she will reap the benefits of positive consequences. However, if a teen makes poor choices such as, abuse drugs and alcohol, skipping class, hanging out with the wrong crowd or disobeying parents and authority, that teen will reap negative consequences. Negative consequences such as, legal troubles, being grounded from parents, or getting kicked out of school due to inactivity or rebelliousness, are all viable and likely negative consequences a teen will experience if he or she is making poor choices.
to actions – Finally, one of the most important steps you can take is laying down clear consequences to the negative actions you are trying to discourage. Instead of becoming angry, you should merely make it clear what will happen if your son or daughter doesn’t meet expectations. One of the most important parts of this method is maintaining your calm. Instead of becoming emotional, you are just making the consequences of potential choices clear and obvious. This method in particular can make a big difference for any family who has been struggling to control a problem child.