Learning Can Be A Lifetime Experience

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   Jacqueline4390posted 9 years ago

   
   “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverb 22:6 NIV
   
   Sometimes we tend to think just because our children are teens or young adults that the training is over. This is a crucial time when training is more important than ever. It’s when they are subjected to all types of temptations and experience situations that may not have been possible a decade ago.
   
   The most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open. It’s all too easy to be judgmental and make accusations. Life is filled with constant learning and large doses of understanding should be administered along with effective LISTENING! Spend more time learning WHY they do things instead of just CRITICIZING the outcome of their choices.

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      Jacqueline4390posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have learned this valuable lesson through the interacting with my children and now my grandchildren. Sometimes we as parents make assumptions that later prove terribly wrong.

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      pitzeleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have also learned to not just listen but also to:
      a)  Remember how I would have reacted as a teenager
      b)  Not necessarily respond after listening - sometimes sympathy (read:  non-judgmental listener) is far more effective than trying to give advice, which is often neither wanted nor appreciated.
      We're still working through the teenage years with two and have another guy about to be a teen, but I'm still here to talk about it!

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   Debra Vervilleposted 9 years ago

   So true. And being a teenager is not easy at all. I have had four teenagers and always kept the lines of communication open. It can be tough sometimes but so worth it in the end.

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      Jacqueline4390posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You are to be commended on your efforts! Thanks for sharing.

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      Teddletonmrposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I find communicating with my teenage boys quite the challenge. It seems to me, teenage kids, / young adults. Today verbal communication skills are more like a text message that comprise of sentence fragments and abbreviations that are misleading.

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         pitzeleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         It is funny you say that - as much as I can understand your statement, I actually find my daughter to be far more difficult to communicate with.  My boys will eventually open up after gentle discussion but my daughter translates everything into her own ideas and all I can do sometimes is smile and tell myself to be patient, she'll speak English in a few years.

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            Teddletonmrposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Ah yes, girls my loving wife and I, are blessed with two preadolescents. I must admit drama is the center of their universe.

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               Jacqueline4390posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               My problems didn't germinate until they were in their teens. They were young and very impressionable children and believed everything I told them. Which was good because I was always honest and upfront with them. However, once peer pressure hit ... they were more the dominant ones than the followers.

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         Jacqueline4390posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         There was more of a challenge with my one daughter than my two sons combined. Though they have proven to be very loyal; I never know what my daughter will say or do.

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            pitzeleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Completely understand.  My boys are very loyal and I just never know what my daughter will think.

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               Jacqueline4390posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I wonder if its a hormone thing or if girls are just that way now a days.

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                  pitzeleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I do believe it is a hormone thing, in addition to the fact that I have also noticed that girls think/process information differently than boys.  Although there is no one gender which is emotionally stronger than the other, girls seem to more times than not react in a more emotional manner than boys.

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                     Jacqueline4390posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Perhaps it is the so called "nesting instinct" in girls that becomes more dominant as they age. The desire to have there own  place to procreate and form a family whereas boys are happier wherever they "roost" be it with Mom or significant other.

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