As a teen they think you have what we call mood swings . Going up and down more than once a day . This is always termed ” ooh this one we know she s not a morning person and left at that. Needless to say there s more to it than not being a morning person. Teens are prone to feeling rejection when parents divorce , when they do not fit the ” cool kids” group at school. Always being told they are not good enough they can do better. Parents seem to think this is encouraging when in actual fact ir leaves the teenager feeling down, not good enough a disappointment to Mom or Dad. Nothing is said about the good things they do but attention is based on what they didn’t do good. That leads them to wanting to be perfect for Mom and dad and that leads to anxiety.

Parents are working long hours , they make up for this by giving kids materials , but the sad part is that the latest gadget does not make up for something as small as a hug and a part on the shoulder fir a job well done. Instead it makes the child feel unloved as there s no affection between the gadget and the child.

The worst is when the parents separate or get divorced you actually take that as your fault. Thinking you are the one that caused the split up and feeling that the other parent does not love you as they chose someone else and sort of rejected you , without having a conversation to tell you that they love you and the reassurance that the separation has nothing to do with you.

Parents work hard to make sure their kids are catered for financially. This is how they show their love for the kids . Children need affection , quality time and attention from their parents . This discord between kids and parents cause a vicious circle of kids with financial means and no parental supervision, quality time and affection.

The kids take the parents s sacrifice which is money earned by not being home long enough and they go out and spend it on drugs . They even go bully other kids at school just so parents can pay attention to them. Parents then feel guilty because they did not see this coming because they were working hard for the same kids to get all they need and send them to the best school.

Then there s another dynamic of single young parents , who still need to go out and have fun , find soul mates and be happy. Kids on the other end think the new partner is replacing them and taking the love of the parent away from them . They start acting up and looking for something to get the parent attention. All this mentioned above affects the mental wellbeing of the teenager .

We need to make time to catch up with the kids , listen to how their day was and all they wanna tell you about their day.. There s always something to pick up if as parents we consistently and actively  communicate to our children.