From birth, parents play a pivotal role in both the physical and emotional development of their children. As children grow, they tend to find personal space or independence to make their own decisions. In the adolescent stage, children are more likely to be close to their friends than their parents. This often leads to breaking family and school rules, and in most instances, children find themselves in significant conflicts with their parents. At this age, children develop behavioral problems such as aggression and lying, and boundary issues. This paper aims to explore the strategies that parents can apply to solve the behavioral issues associated with young children.
Parents are role models to their children, and thus children are likely to copy the behaviors that they witness their parents engage in. This makes it a necessity for parents to filter actions that they do in front of their children. Children who grow in families characterized by physical violence and fights are at an increased risk of becoming aggressive as they grow. This is because they perceive that the only way to solve problems is through aggression. Parents need to engage in nonviolent talks with their children whenever they wrong and explain the importance of acceptable behaviors.
Second, I believe parents should maintain close relationships with their children in all stages of child development. When children are at the adolescent stage, some parents quit cuddling, playing sharing stories with their children. However, this doesn’t seem right because it leads to retrieve information or even seek guidance from friends who are likely to mislead them. Maintaining a close relationship with children enables them to be open and share anything they believe is affecting them. For instance, the study shows that close to their parents are likely to open up about boyfriend-girlfriend relationship and peers who request sex. Contrary, children who believe that their parents do not care are more likely to lie or hide these stories from their parents, which is expected to lead to wrong activities.
Third, to handle boundaries or a child’s independence to make decisions, parents should be more moderators than regulators. Parents should allow their children to make personal decisions on some matters such as courses to pursue, friends’ selection, and activities to do. When children feel that parents are not giving them spaces or boundaries, they are likely to show negative behaviors. However, parents should inform children of the impacts of making different choices to ensure that they make informed decisions. This is because it is challenging to control a teen who wants to do something. For instance, parents should not deny teens from attending peer parties but should caution them about irresponsible behaviors.
Lastly, parents should act as counselors to their children. Children trust their parents more than professional counselors because they know how to interact more with them. As a result, parents should try to gain counseling skills because children are more likely to be open to them. As a result, parents can play a crucial role in taking their children through healing processes from mental disorders such as depression and stress. However, children can only be open to parents if there is a healthy relationship.
This paper finds that parents can play a significant role in solving behavioral problems and diagnosed disorders. Parents should ensure that they build strong relationships with their children to increase the chances of openness and trust. Second, parents are role models to their children, and thus they should always engage in positive practices. Lastly, this paper concludes that parents should give children spaces or obligations to make informed personal decisions. They should also develop counseling skills because children are more open to them.