Are you the kind of parent that frequently tears her hair over your teenager’s misbehaviour? Can’t seem to break the wall that is growing between you and your kid? You are not alone. Most parents are at a loss while dealing with disruptive behaviour in their teenaged children.
Psychologists, however, insist that when a child misbehaves, most of the times it is not with malicious intent. Also, some amount of “tantrums and other kinds of acting out are often a normal and even healthy part of childhood.”
Maybe the aggression/sullenness is a reaction to strict, authoritarian parenting methods, or is due to pushing uncomfortable issues under the carpet?
Before you flog yourself on being a “bad parent”, do understand that life happens, and the way individuals react can depend on many things. As a parent, you might be overreacting to some trigger, or your teenager may be responding to some perceived violation of his/her freedom. Professional counselling services by an experienced counsellor helps in analysing and course correction.
How does Online Counselling for Children Help?
As we have seen, children throwing tantrums or refusing to communicate are not so unusual. Your teenager may also be reacting aggressively due to an undiagnosed mental health issue. Depression, anxiety and stress are now bigger diseases than obesity or diabetes, and if left unaddressed, can damage your child permanently. It makes sense to seek expert counselling advice.
And if the stigma of approaching a psychologist in person is bothering you, you can avail free online counselling for depression or anxiety to help your child.
Child counselling services helps in:
- Reaching to the root of the problematic behaviour. Why does he feel upset? Is she trying to tell you something? Is the child feeling ignored or side-lined?
- Understanding and accepting parental expectations. He/she sees you as a collaborator in the relationship.
- If there is depression, anxiety, or any other problem he/she is struggling with, acceptance of the issue and starting therapy. Online counselling for anxiety gives your teenager an opportunity to vent and starts the process of recovery.
Does Counselling Help a Parent?
As a parent, counselling helps you in:
- Clearly communicating with your teenaged child. When you communicate your expectations to your child clearly and acknowledge their needs, the triggering situations can be avoided. Above all, open communication helps in restoring faith.
- Analysing your expectations. Unrealistic expectations may be at the root of the problem.
- Addressing contentious issues. Have you had an honest conversation with your child? Are you avoiding some problem? In your bid to keep peace, you might be inadvertently worsening things.
- Recognizing the sense of guilt that you may be feeling and tackling it. Your guilt for the child’s behaviour may be worsening things. You learn to remove guilt and blame from the situation.
Taking professional help not only diffuses the stress both of you feel at the moment, it also prevents future outbursts/ breakdowns. Get online with your trusted counsellor, now.
And if you prefer face-to-face interaction, just search for “holistic health counselling near me” and fix an appointment as per your convenience.
With a little help, you too can ace walking the parenting tightrope!