Healthy Relationships: Relationships with Parents

Healthy Relationships:

Relationships with Parents

Healthy Relationships	Real Life: Dating Relationships
Real Life: Sibling Relationships	Real Life: Relationships w/ Parents
Real Life: Relationships w/ Friends

Your relationship with your parents may be confusing right now. As you are growing and changing, you have more responsibilities and also more freedom to spend time with other people like friends or dating partners. While you may feel ready to make your own decisions about where and when you go places, your parents will put limits on you because they care about you and want to protect you from danger. You may find that you are fighting with your parents more than you used to.

Here are some tips for how to avoid and handle arguments with your parents:

Discuss the rules ahead of time and not at the last minute.
Try to remain calm and do not lose your temper when your parents say no to something.
Follow each rule that they set. By being responsible and by following rules, your parents may be willing to negotiate a later time in the future, especially if they know that you will follow their rules.
Pick your battles. Try to figure out what is really bothering you. This will help you to know if it is worth arguing about.
Spend time with your family. Some teens argue with their parents over the amount of time they spend with their friends. Communicate with each other and make some special family time so that you can all enjoy the time you spend at home.

Remember that healthy relationships are about feeling good about who YOU are and feeling SAFE with another person. You have the power to create healthy relationships all around you just by paying attention to who you are inside and what makes you happy. By getting to know yourself, it will get easier to recognize the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Communication, trust and respect are the key ingredients for healthy relationships.

Written by the CYWH and YMH Staff at Children's Hospital Boston

Updated: 1/27/2010

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