Parental monitoring

Parental monitoring can be a very useful tool in developing close ties between parents and teens. The one thing I did realize which is also stated in our book is that overly restrictive and controlling parenting correlates with depression (Berger, 2011). If a parent is using too much control to keep teens in line, the teen may feel tension in their relationship with their parents. I believe the more tension and depression there is, the more likely the teen will be willing to try risky behaviors such as drugs and sex.. This is the opposite reaction that the overly controlling parent is trying to achieve. This is why this strategy does not work when dealing with teens. In my opinion, parents should be stern with their teens about what they expect from them but also show that they trust and respect their teen. Trust and respect is earned, so parental monitoring has to be a mutual one two way street. I think too many parents already have it written in their head that their teen is out breaking rules and getting into trouble. If the parents were more hands on with their teens and tried to work through issues with them instead of hounding them on them, parental monitoring could have a very positive effect on the relationship.

Citations:

Berger, Kathleen. (2011). The Developing Person Through the Life Span. New York, NY : Worth Publishers.