Dr. Mary O’Kane, a psychology and education lecturer, advises that irrespective of a child’s age, parents should encourage them to undertake a task today that they couldn’t accomplish the day before. Endorsing daily small and beneficial risks is key, particularly for teens. The nature of these risks, however, should be gauged by the maturity, personality, and circumstances of the child – a judgement best made by parents.
Here are several suggestions to consider:
– For younger teenagers, it might be beneficial to leave them home alone for short periods, given that Tusla, the child and family agency, advises against leaving kids under 14 alone for lengthy durations. For teens over 16, however, it’s deemed acceptable.
– If your child isn’t used to shopping alone, consider sending them out on errands.
– As they gain your trust, consider lessening your strictness around curfews and check-in times when they are out socialising with their peers.
– Psychotherapist Stella O’Malley advises against constantly locating your teen through their mobile device. The sense of liberty they get from not being under parental surveillance can be empowering. A sudden withdrawal of this constant control at the age of 18, for instance when they head to university, can be overwhelming for them.
– Encourage them to utilise public transport instead of ferrying them around at all times.
– Steer them towards adrenaline-pumping sports and other demanding tasks. However, if they lose interest, it might be because the activities are only ‘pseudo risky,’ says O’Malley.
– Participate in thrill-inducing activities such as kayaking or zip-lining that might scare you. Confronting your fear, potentially with their encouragement, provides a valuable lesson in emotional management.
– Enable trips for pre-teens to the region’s top adventure playgrounds and let them experience it at their own pace.
There’s no need to head outside for exhilarating summer adventures. Take, for instance, a drama camp; it offers teens a unique opportunity to step out of their familiar atmosphere, notes psychologist Dr Malie Coyne. It introduces them to the possibility of failure through putting on a performance.
It’s vital to discourage them from surrendering the entire summer to their mobiles and other gadgets. Consider setting agreed times during the day when devices are off-limits, and you may also want to reconsider the placement of television screens and gaming systems in your home to make them less appealing for the youngsters during the warm season.
When spending time together as a family in public places, motivate them to communicate autonomously with people they are not familiar with including servers, public transport personnel, shop employees, touristic site informers, or ticket vendors etc, instead of doing all the talking for them.