Parents and Teenagers

Kahani Ghar Ghar ki (Story of every home)

This is the story of every teenager at home. And this particular story revolves around a girl named Ritika. And something that happens during Valentine’s week.

Ritika was engrossed in her favourite Netflix series, when her mother asked her for her lunch box. After calling Ritika a number of times, her mother decided to search through her bag to get her lunch box. While searching she finds a small lovely teddy bear and a big bright and beautiful valentine’s day card, with some handwritten messages written on it.

“Ritika?!” Mom said.

“Yes?” replies Ritika distractedly

“Where did you get this teddy bear from?!” Mom exclaims.

Assuming her mom is talking about the toy she got from the market a few days ago. Ritika says “I got it two days back from that shopkeeper. And guess what mom, I got an amazing discount!”

“Shopkeeper?!” her mom says with a straight face.

“Yes, nice guy really, very sweet!” says Ritika.

“Ah, I see. How long has this been going on?” Mom.

“I told you – two days back, you are not paying attention mom!I

“I see. You got this card from him too? Messages also, he wrote it for free, it seems?!”

Ritika: Card…?

She then remembers that her school bag had some gifts and cards that her friend had kept there for Valentine’s Day, to give to someone special.

Ritika tries to explain to her mom but she is not ready to listen, instead scolds Ritika a lot. In the evening when her dad came from the office, the scolding continued. Ritika, later spends the whole evening feeling scared and stressed, unable to concentrate on her studies or prepare for the test that was supposed to happen the next day. She failed the test and her parents even blamed her for that too. This is the outcome in every home where parents and children don’t seem to be on the same wavelength, where they don’t communicate effectively.

Today’s generation has different requirements and needs which the parents need to understand, and need to see the situations from their children’s perspective. And here we will be discussing some points we need to remember at this juncture.

Another issue that may arise due to low confidence is Peer Pressure. Peer pressure occurs when you choose to do something you don’t want to do in order to fit in with society or your peers. As a result, many children develop substance dependence, smoking, consume alcohol, or engage in sexual behaviors. In such instances, a child’s parents should be the first one they turn to for assistance. A parent should listen to their child without judging them and keep the lines of communication open. They should also propose strategies for them to deal with their peers by establishing or increasing their confidence.

Children go through a lot of changes during their teenage years, and if communication is not maintained in a healthy way, the relationship is bound to have ups and downs, teenagers need a lot of care and support from their parents, as well as a safe space where they can feel secure enough to express themselves.

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