HAVE ‘THE TALK’ WITH YOUR TEEN
There are many factors that affect a child’s health and education outside the school environment and as parents we have a responsibility towards our children to find out if anything bothers them. Have you ever taken a minute to talk to them about things like their;
HOME ENVIRONMENT:
relationships in the home, how they have affected them, divorce issues ,blending of families, marriages, issues of grief, death, absent parents ,absent fathers and mothers, being parented by other relatives and not you as a biological parent. We shouldn’t look at them as mere kids, spectators who have no say about anything in the home.
EDUCATION:
Talk to them about their current grades, school environment; difficulties with subjects at school, availability of teachers and books at school, bullying, visual issues, hearing issues, learning disabilities..eg having difficulty with calculations, reading etc. Electronic media use, time spent on TV, having a scheduled time table is also important.
EATING HABITS:
healthy versus unhealthy eating habits, binging and/or avoiding food.
EMPLOYMENT:
if employed or doing part time work
ACTIVITIES:
physical activity
SUBSTANCE USE:
Drugs including alcohol, marijuana, cigarette smoking other drugs; madaena, spiking of drinks at parties...some will use language you don’t know to name drugs ba bitsa o le ha!
SEX:
Discussing contraception; sexually transmitted diseases, relationships, boyfriends and girlfriends is crucial. If you don’t speak to them first, their teenage friends will! It’s always better if you are their first source of information instead of their friends who can mislead them.
SUICIDE:
Observe any suicidal thoughts, any depression issues. Some parents think these are issues that only affect the rich. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Do you know who your child chats with on social media, what they post, time spent using social media! Teach them about cyber security and predators.
SAFETY:
Including use of seat belts, avoiding use of vehicles driven by a drunken driver and stealing vehicles to drive without licenses
Have the conversations before they are too cool to listen to you. The first time you guide or share with your child life principles to live by, shouldn’t be when they are getting married. Often times, it’s not even that some kids are ill disciplined and stubborn, they just need you as apparent to sit down and have meaningful conversation with them and understand their world through their eyes.