KIM LEWIS-WILLIAMS
ENERGY KINESIOLOGIST

From the moment you turn 13 you are a young adult. No longer a 12 year old, you have just been bumped up to teen-hood! At least this is what you think anyway!... Adults don't seem to understand how huge this change over has been for you. They still treat you like a child. Unfortunately this lack of acknowledgement seems to run right through the teenage years, which just creates a bigger divide between parents and children. While both parent and child sit wondering why you are bumping heads all the time when during your pre-teen years, you used to be best friends.

A Growing Experience For All

Times are changing and all you can do is try your best to embrace what is going on. Your job is to understand the process of what is happening to your child. Your child is growing up! They are starting to find their own identity, they are having to deal with hormonal changes and they are trying fit in to their surroundings. Plus, now they are starting to see the opposite sex as desirable, which is all very new to them. Furthermore, they are finding that the only people that truly get them are their peers who are going through the same growing pains.

A parent does not need to be a teens best friend, but it is essential to be open and honest with each other. The child wants to be understood, so it is crucial that the parent listens whole-heartedly to the child's concerns before they shut down their ideas. If a parent always shuts down the child's concerns and ideas, eventually the child will stop consulting with the parent and do things their own way. While this approach will have many ups-and-downs, it is of utmost importance that you as the parent try your best to see life through your child's eyes. Understand what their concerns and ideas involve and try to meet them half way. Life is never black and white, so there are always a multitude of alternatives to any plan. Try to find a partnership where you and your child can brainstorm on how best to approach the task at hand. If you can learn to show your child that their are many alternatives to a given situation, this way of thinking will stay with them and help in many ways later on in their life. Remember that society and companies love out-the-box thinkers. Its alright to not see eye-to-eye all the time! The magic lies in working together to find a solution that works for everyone. Just because you are the adult in the situation does not mean that your ideas are the only ideas that will always work. A teenager is trying to understand how they fit into this world. This is no easy task as many adults still don't know how they fit in. Learn to see the world through your child's eyes and use your wisdom to guide them in the right direction, instead of dictating your way.

Thanks for reading,
Kim