Teenagers
are a hard batch to understand and an even harder batch to control. However
most parents do not realise that the key to motivating your teens is
encouragement. It is and has always been the key to good positive motivation.
Here. we will show you five sure-fire techniques to motivate your teen.
1.
Compliments
People
do better when they feel better and it’s only natural that a compliment goes a
long way. So if your teen has just won a sporting event at school or stood
third in a drama event, compliment him/her and reward them. This will ensure
that they are positively motivated to do better. An healthy exercise is to have
regular weekly family meetings. it down with your family for at least an hour
every week and talk about positive family moments. Talk to your teens about the
week gone by. Compliment them on their successes and advice or hear their
problems out. During the week, look for ways to let your kids know how unique
they are, what you appreciate about them, how adorable they were as little
kids. Tell them stories about what they used to do when they were younger.
2.
Humor
Parents,
do you know teenagers respond to humor better than lectures and nagging. Here’s
an example of how a parent used humor to defuse a situation.
Peter
was a father of three teens who used betting and guessing games to motivate the
children and add humor to a situation. When Peter noticed the chores weren't
getting done as agreed, he'd say, "Someone forgot to do something they
agreed to. I'll give a dollar to the first person who guesses what it is."
The teens ran around the house trying to find out who the culprit was so they
could win a dollar.
Simple
things like this can set your kids on the right part. All it takes is a bit of
positivity and the right enforcement.
3.
Collateral
Collateral
works really well with teens. If they want to borrow something of yours then
they have to give you something valuable of theirs in return. When they return
what they borrowed you give them back what's theirs. Good collateral must be
something that your teens value like an ipod, make up kit, jewelry etc.
4.
Let's make a deal
Another
technique that works well in motivating teens is the proposition. Make deals
with your kids so you can get them to do their work without too much fuss. For
instance you could make a deal with your teen to give him a day of unlimited
gaming if he cleans up his room. Such kind of positive encouragement goes a
long way in keeping your teens motivated.
5 . Get
involved
Probably
the most simple tip but still the most overlooked one. If you want to help your
kid it's important to get involved. What this means is that the parent and the
teen must arrive at some sort of a breakthrough when it comes to expectation
and goal management . Talk to your teen and ask him/her to share their goals
and issues. Then you talk about your goals and issues. If your goals and your
teens goals are far apart, brainstorm and come up with the best possible
option. Both you and your teen can then agree on an option you can both live
with and carry on from there.