As a teenager, I went through a phase like many young girls when I thought I was adopted. Now, I sit with many ladies and we laugh about it but the truth is there is a lot that we learnt from that time of our lives. Things that we now talk to our mothers about and try to understand or get closure for.

For this reason, I am writing this. Ways to maintain and keep a beautiful relationship with your teenage daughter.

1) Be present

It is known news that when a girl reaches her teenage age, there is a withdrawal tendency or the need to be very outspoken about their thoughts. At a time like this, getting angry at every action she takes may not be the most efficient approach. You may need to tolerate some things at the moment and approach it when the heat is less and she is wise and calm enough to listen and talk to you. She needs to know that you are concerned about every aspect of her life as opposed to just making sure that her grades and moral standards are okay.

2) Be deliberate

Every child wants to feel important at every point during their teenage age. They may say a statement hoping that you will ask follow-up questions before they fully open up to you. You need to be a deliberate listener and observer. If your daughter begins to exhibit traits that you have never seen before, the first course of action should be a discussion as opposed to discipline. It is from a discussion that the best mode of discipline can be deciphered.

3) Don’t give up

Looking back at the woman I turned out to be, I cannot say that my mother was always right or always wrong but I can say that she stayed through the cause, even when it seemed like she no longer understood what to do. Sometimes, a child can be convinced to try and live better because of your consistency. 

Raising a child and specifically, a daughter in a world like today’s world is definitely a task that requires a lot of work and no one can say they completely understood the “manual”. This is an appreciation write-up for all the mothers and mother figures who continue to do their best!

Images: Google