You're Fired

We have all heard that parenting is a job.  Yes, it is. I happened on a great analogy

What do you do when one of your employees interrupts you with a question while you are focusing on your project? - You stop. Not because you want to, but because you have to. Your management position requires it. If you choose to tell your employee: "Come back later" or "I really cannot deal with this right now" you are not doing your job as a manager and your review will reflect this. Furthermore, your employees will stop coming to you with their questions, deal with their problems the best way they see how, and eventually your department will be in a state of complete chaos. Your boss wants to speak with you for a moment behind closed doors? There is a very good chance you saw that coming.

Being a manager, guiding other employees so they will succeed and excel in what they're doing is what upper management expects of you. It's a duty that you cannot ignore if you want to keep your job.  

 
Parenting your teenager is very similar to being a manager. Just like any job description, how you go about parenting makes a significant difference in the results. However, instead of guiding and assisting strangers, you are supporting and helping you own child. Are you sure you want to leave your teenager to fend on his own because you're an "already busy parent?"

Busy parents are also stressed parents. We cannot escape the duties of our individual jobs, so we try to keep additional pressures at bay if we can. It's so easy to tell your teen that you really don't have time for him now. He'll say "OK" and walk away -- you're ready to continue with whatever you were doing.  You saved five minutes.

For your teenager, however, these five minutes would have meant getting your help and advice instead of being left to deal with his issue on his own. They would have meant that he is important enough for you to stop what you're doing and help him, instead of being scolded for interrupting your busy life. They would have given him the security blanket he needs as he is trying to gain confidence in himself and his decisions.

There is no fear of a bad review when it comes to your teen -- or is there? If your teen has to deal with an issue without your support and fails -- is it only your teen's fault?

You want your teen to stay out of trouble and you want your teen to succeed. He cannot do that alone, he needs your guidance and support. Your time is needed, not just for a better relationship with your teenager, but for your teen to resist peer pressure, stay out of trouble and not start to drink, use drugs or get depressed. To resist and cope with the pressures of growing up, your teen needs to know that he matters in your life and that he can come to you for help and advice. Your teen needs you - even if he acts otherwise. chrissie