Three Consistency Traps (Part 2)

Being the parent of a teenager is never easy.

But when your teen is highly sensitive …

Well, that adds a whole other level of complexity.

If you’re a parent of a teen though, and you read my post last week about the importance of consistency with highly-sensitive kids, maybe you’re thinking -

“Well, Megghan’s advice there should work for us, too.”

Stop right now!

There’s a BIG difference between the 3 things parents of younger kids need to do for consistency, compared to parents of teens.

That’s why, if you have a kid between 13 and 19 (or even just a little outside of this range,) you need to read today’s blog carefully.

Because I’m about to reveal the 3 consistency traps that keep teen parents stuck.

Trap #1: Parents Not Being on the Same Page

With most things in your relationship, one spouse will take more of an active role.

Whether it’s things like household chores …

Buying groceries …

Or home improvements and tending to the yard.

But when this happens with parenting an HSC, it can lead to problems.

If parents aren’t on the same page, your teen can feel isolated and confused.

Not just that, but you can feel like you and your partner are both working hard to push a rock up a mountain …

… only you’re both trying to go up different mountains!

You could be doing everything right, but if your spouse isn’t reinforcing the same message -- or worse, they’re enforcing their own message -- that leads to inconsistency …

And that only makes your teen’s struggles a whole lot worse.

Trap #2: Misjudging Their Independence

All teens want to be independent.

That’s normal.

And you need to give them the freedom to mature into a well-rounded adult.

But at the same time, I speak with many parents who (unknowingly) use their teen’s desire for independence against them.

One minute they can be championing their desire for responsibility and freedom …

The next minute they’re laying down super strict ground rules.

I know it’s tough, but setting firm (yet fair) boundaries around their independence without stifling them is critical.

Trap #3: Being Their Chief Problem-Solver

Spending more time out there in ‘the real world’ is going to pose challenges.

But it’s important that when your teen faces these challenges, you don’t immediately rush in and solve the problem for them.

That’s not helping them … And it’s not helping you.

Sure, you want to be their sounding board …

Counsel with them on difficult issues …

And talk them through problems …

But you can’t fix everything for them.

You need them to learn how to creatively solve problems they run into.

And, just like the first trap, you and your spouse both need to be on the same page when it comes to how you tackle supporting your teen, without smothering them.

Avoid these 3 traps, and parenting a Highly-Sensitive Teen becomes so much easier.

All that said, some of this IS a learning game.

There’s no denying that.

Parenting a teen is always about rolling with the punches, and dealing with challenges as they arise.

And when your teen is highly sensitive, you’re going to have even more of that in your life.

My best piece of advice for you though, is to be consistent.

You won’t get it ‘right’ every time.

But you’ll help your teen feel so much more supported, guided and confident if you at least stay consistent.

And if you and your spouse are both equally involved and on the same team.

If that sounds tough though?

Or something you think you’d like some support on?

My team and I are always here for you.

In fact, if you haven’t booked a breakthrough call with us yet, I’d highly recommend doing that, right now.

We’ll get on the phone for about 45 minutes and discuss your current challenges in parenting your highly-sensitive teen.

We’ll run through your goals -- whether that’s to do with their academic performance, their social life, or even more about how you and your partner can work better together -- and discuss a game plan for hitting these.

Then at the end of the call, we can speak about you maybe joining the MTC program.

Having helped literally thousands of HSC parents to date, I’m confident you’d get a lot from working with us.

But I’d love it if we could have that call first.

So use this link to book some time …

For parents with younger kids, not in high school use this link.

And one of my team will be more than happy to speak with you.