Ah, to be 16 again, at an age when everything seemed possible and our dreams seemed limitless, unburdened by the heavy chains of reality and responsibility. 

The first tentative steps into teenage-hood can be rather daunting, for both you and your adolescent child. Suddenly, the cheerful, lovable kid morphs into a surly, secretive teenager. While you grapple with this transformation, your teenage child is also trying to get a grip on the physical and mental changes he or she is experiencing. 

Your soon-to-be-adult child still has a lot of growing up to do, and from now until that time, you as a parent are in the best position to guide him or her to become a responsible human being.

RELATIONSHIP AND SEX ISSUES

Dealing With the First Relationship
One of the features of adolescence is that your child will start to show greater interest in people outside of their family and might want to have an adult relationship with another individual. This is a good sign, and not the time to press the panic button, as it demonstrates that you have done a fantastic job in raising your child to be a well-adjusted sociable person.

Be genuinely interested in his or her friends, all the while keeping in mind that adolescence is also a time when he or she will begin valuing privacy more and more. If you have never displayed any prior interest in his or her friends, suddenly wanting to know where your child is going and who else is going might seem to him or her like you are spying.

Of course, if your teenage child is dating someone, it is within your rights and responsibilities to know who he or she is seeing. However, that does not mean giving the person the third degree!

Also, set reasonable rules about dating such as the curfew time and stress to your child the need to maintain grades and healthy relationships with the rest of his or her friends and family.

The First Break-Up
The ending of a first love may be an especially difficult time for your teenage children and it will not be the last time they will be facing heartache and disappointment.

Most of the time, they will not want to discuss it with you but there’s absolutely nothing to worry about as teenagers are extremely resilient by nature. One day, they could be moping and miserable and the next day, they could be gushing over their new love.

That’s not to say that you should dismiss your teenage child’s break-up as a trivial matter. Adolescence can be an emotional time, so be prepared for sudden mood swings, but you should be especially concerned if this period of change lasts for an extended period – over two weeks.