Where is Your Teen?

 

image retrieved from: http://fyi.uwex.edu/swys/2013/02/27/teens-and-parental-monitoring/

While adolescence is a time of growing autonomy for teens, they still need their parents.  Parents may be challenged to find the right balance of connection and involvement and control and/or appropriate loosening of control.   Some research shows that parental monitoring is a crucial component of parenting.    Higher parental monitoring created more intrinsic motivation in one study and decreased school trouble and increased school self-esteem. 

Supervision is a protective act involving knowing where the teen is, what they are doing and who they are with.

Here are some examples of teens who receive parental monitoring:

 (a) My parents know where I am after school,

(b) If I am going to be home later, I am expected to call my parents to let them know,

(c) I tell my parents who I am going to be with before I go out,

(d) When I go out at night, my parents know where I am,

(e) I talk with my parents about the plans I have with my friends, and

(f) When I go out, my parents ask me where I am going.

These resources can be helpful in sharpening our parental monitoring skills:

Supervision 

Monitoring