Elana’s dad was a recovering alcoholic.  He had been sober for nearly a year and was diligently going to AA meetings, however he was also suffering from a bout of deep depression.  Tired of fighting the inner darkness and afraid he would slip up and go back to the bottle, Elana’s father decided to give up the struggle and took his own life.

The number one concern of nearly every parent I meet is “How do I set up rules my teen will follow?”  When adolescence hits, it can be frustrating as teens push, prod and run roughshod over the boundaries of the home.  Some teens have little to no regard for any parental policies.  In situations like these, mom and dad may be at a loss on how to get their child to follow their protective guidelines.  If you are looking for a game plan for your home, the best place to start is creating a balance of consequences and privileges for your household rules.

Ready for a pop quiz?  What are the two habits that will destroy your relationship with your teen and are guaranteed to make parenting a wasted effort?  Answer: disrespect and dishonesty.  Those two noxious weeds can creep in, and uproot entire families.  And left un-weeded and untamed, they’ll only grow and spread their roots to areas outside the home.  So how do you uproot disrespect and dishonesty from your teen?

As a parent of a teenager, you’re probably well acquainted with stress.  It creeps in when you and your teen are in conflict.  You can feel it in the pit of your stomach, in your head, and between your eyes.  Stress can keep you up at night, and anxious all day.  According to recent medical studies, stress also:

• Fuels cancer in animal tests
• Shrinks the brain and lowers cognitive abilities
• Spurs the symptoms of depression
• Raises your risk of having a stroke
• Increases your risk of having a heart attack
• Damages your immune system, making you more prone to infections, colds, and chronic ailments