30. Balance:
Achieving balance in life is important
whatever your age. If your teenager stays up late every night their
health and school work is likely to suffer while the occasional late
night is unlikely to be a cause for concern. The key is to build a
relationship with your teen based on good communication. If you do
this you will be in the best position to point out when you feel
that your teenager's life is becoming unbalanced. It is important to
model a balanced life yourself. As parents and carers we can become
absorbed in particular areas of life and our teenager will be quick
to notice this. Some parents are workaholics for example. This can
create resentment from their teenager as they may feel neglected.
The
most important gift you can give your teenager is your time. They may
well appreciate the lovely gifts that you can afford to buy them when
you work over-time but if this means that they hardly get to see
you, family life becomes unbalanced and can start to suffer.
During times of economic struggle it is
totally understandable that parents and carers focus on earning
enough money to pay the bills. If you do have to be out at work a
lot, remember that when you are with your teen, try to focus fully on
them. Remember that the quality of the time spent with your teen is
even more important than the quantity of time spent with them.
If you make time for them and truly
listen to them when you are with them they are likely to feel
supported and loved.
If you model living a balanced life
where you eat a reasonable diet, get enough sleep and achieve a good
work-life balance the chances are that your teenager will see the
benefits and try it for themselves.
Get plenty of sleep!
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