Becoming a teenager can be a stressful time - for your child and the whole family. It seems as if your friendly, loveable child changes overnight into a complex, rebellious stranger. The way you once communicated with them is no longer effective.
During the transitional teenage years young people are changing rapidly, physically and emotionally. They start to form their own values, discover their own identities and find their own purpose in life.
During this time, the foundations for becoming a mature adult are built.
To keep the relationship between teen and parent strong, parents should start their own process of transition - from being the manager of their child to a life coach for their teen.
Being a manager is easy, because you're in control. You decide what happens and when it happens and your children normally do what they're told. A managerial approach works well for children aged 11 and under, but once they develop abstract thought and become teenagers it won't be effective.
Teenagers want parents around, but they don't want you managing and controlling their lives. However, they desperately need a non-judgmental person to guide them and coach them through their teen years. Normally we associate the term coach with someone who's in charge of training an athlete or team. This is your role as a parent coach - to provide the training and encouragement for your teenager to mature into a healthy adult.