When your teen starts dating, it's hard to know when to step in and when to offer a little privacy. While you want to ensure your teen is in a healthy, safe relationship and makes good choices while dating, you can't shadow her on every date. Instead, monitor your teen's behavior and communication. That way, you can talk about potential problems and warning signs in a mature way with your young adult.
Talk to your teen about safe and healthy relationships before he begins dating seriously. If you keep an open line of communication from the very start, your teen may be more willing to talk to you about his relationships in the future. Talk about signs of a healthy relationship, such as shared interests and mutual respect. You should also cover signs of an unhealthy relationship, like jealousy, controlling behavior and feeling held back, warns HealthyChildren.org. An early conversation can set the tone for your teen's dating experience.
Invite your teen's significant other into your home often and make an effort to get to know him or her, suggests the Ohio State University Extension. You'll be able to easily monitor your teen's dating relationship when your teen and her significant other are together in the same house. Watch to see how they act around each other -- inappropriate amounts of touching or wanting to be alone may be warning signs, while a reluctance to have a significant other over at all could be telling about your teen's dating relationship.
Register for social media accounts and monitor your teen by becoming friends with him online. The Pew Center for Internet Research estimates that 77 percent of teens use Facebook and 24 percent use Twitter, as of 2012. Social media can be a treasure trove for monitoring -- your teen might update his relationship status online or post status updates that you can talk about later.
Observe your teen's behavior when she's in a dating relationship. Dating as a teen should be fun and exciting, and it shouldn't lead to breaking rules or a withdrawal from the things she once loved or her friends. Isolation is a sign of an unhealthy relationship, so if you notice that dating is changing your teen negatively, revisit your conversation about healthy relationships. While you can't control your teen, you can remind her of how partners should treat each other with respect.
Talk to your teen about safe and healthy relationships before he begins dating seriously. If you keep an open line of communication from the very start, your teen may be more willing to talk to you about his relationships in the future. Talk about signs of a healthy relationship, such as shared interests and mutual respect. You should also cover signs of an unhealthy relationship, like jealousy, controlling behavior and feeling held back, warns HealthyChildren.org. An early conversation can set the tone for your teen's dating experience.
Invite your teen's significant other into your home often and make an effort to get to know him or her, suggests the Ohio State University Extension. You'll be able to easily monitor your teen's dating relationship when your teen and her significant other are together in the same house. Watch to see how they act around each other -- inappropriate amounts of touching or wanting to be alone may be warning signs, while a reluctance to have a significant other over at all could be telling about your teen's dating relationship.
Register for social media accounts and monitor your teen by becoming friends with him online. The Pew Center for Internet Research estimates that 77 percent of teens use Facebook and 24 percent use Twitter, as of 2012. Social media can be a treasure trove for monitoring -- your teen might update his relationship status online or post status updates that you can talk about later.
Observe your teen's behavior when she's in a dating relationship. Dating as a teen should be fun and exciting, and it shouldn't lead to breaking rules or a withdrawal from the things she once loved or her friends. Isolation is a sign of an unhealthy relationship, so if you notice that dating is changing your teen negatively, revisit your conversation about healthy relationships. While you can't control your teen, you can remind her of how partners should treat each other with respect.


04:57
Faizan
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