20 Keys to Parenting Teen-agers   by Helene Rothschild

Would you like some help with parenting your teen-ager? As a Marriage, Family Therapist for 27 years, I noticed that parents were having similar problems with their children during their teen-years. I realized that the children and parents often talked about their frustrations and did not know how to express what they wanted.

The following poems that I made into posters are designed to help the fathers and mothers (or guardians) and children communicate in a positive, constructive way. You can use these poems to connect with your teen-ager, and make win-win agreements that can help you be the successful parent you want to be.

"As I Grow Up" is what your teen-ager may want to say to you. "Dear Teen-ager" is what you may want to say to your child. I suggest that you ask your son or daughter to check off what he or she wants to say to you, and you check off what you want to say to your child. Then switch papers, and each of you take turns reading off what the other person wants to say to you. Finally make agreements of what you are both willing to do. This process can greatly improve your parent-child relationship.