Teaching our teens to be independent strengthens their self esteem. When they are capable of doing thing on their own, they feel empowered. So, school is out, what can you do to help them become more self sufficient? The best thing you can do is make sure they are participating in household duties. Summer is a good time to make sure they are part of the family team because the load of school isn’t on them. Teach them how to make dinner and let them be responsible for one night a week. Let them do their own laundry, encourage them to make their own appointments for things they are scheduling. Also encourage them to get a part time job, even if they are younger. Check out my summer job for teens blog, it has some great ideas for teens of all ages.
Another thing we can do to develop independence is explain to them about curfew and trust and tell them your not going to check up on them, you’re going to let them hold them self accountable. If they mess up, it’s an opportunity to sit down with them and explain why it’s so important to be on time. Teach them what it really means. I think it’s also a great idea to get your teen an appointment book and have them start putting in their appointments, chores and even times when they get together with friends.
When your teens are independent, they feel more grown up and mature. When they feel more grown up and mature, they feel better about themselves. If they feel better about themselves, they make decisions for themselves and their self esteem just continues to grow. This is our job as a parent to teach our teens how to be independent, isn’t it what we want?
