During adolescence many teens become distant from their families, especially their parents. Spending time with their friends becomes more frequent and is abnormal if this does not occur. Parents need to be there for their teen(s) at any time. To maintain a good, close relationship parents must build a relationship where their teen can feel comfortable to come and talk to them about anything, good or bad. This support and encouragement is very important to a teen's psychological growth. To ensure that the relationship does not become dysfunctional and that it gains a feeling of being comfortable, parents and teens should be aware of each others' feelings. This means that they should know each other's joys and what causes them pain. Parents are the most important rol

nt's love and trust are the most significant things that they can show their children. Their love and trust gives their teen respect and love for themselves. It is normal for there to be many conflicts during this time of adolescence between teens and their parents, the key is to have open communication and trust. Many of these conflicts occur from rules about curfew, friends, and dating.

Orvin, George H. Understanding the Adolescent.

Orvin, George H. Understanding the Adolescent. Washington: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1995.

Dating has its many benefits and its disadvantages. Dating can build self-esteem, help young people discover who they are, help learn social skills, and help teens to develop close, intimate ties with another person. But their are downsides that also come along with dating. It can lower self-esteem due to rejection, reinforce sex-role stereotypes, and also be a part of a game instead of trying for a real relationship. Cheating, gaining status, and leading on one another are all a part of playing games (Steinberg and Levine 333). Other disadvantages occur among females when they begin dating too early. It affects their time spent on school work, outside interests, hobbies, friends, and family (196). Not only do they focus most of their attention to attracting boys but they lose their close girl friendships. Many girls that begin to date young are often dating boys older than them. Due to this the girl is hanging with an older crowd and trying to impress them. The bes!

Crudele, John, and Richard Erikson. Making Sense of Adolescence: How to Parent from the Heart. Liguori: Triumph Book, 1995.

A healthy, good, romantic relationship is based on honesty, respect, trust, and open communication. An honest relationship is one in which either person acts the way they really are without having to pretend. The couple can share their thoughts and feelings openly with each other. An honest couple know that lying only leads to guilt and pain. A respectful relationship consists of equality and that they value each other. Each partner should treat the other how they want to be treated. If respect is not shared in the relationship, abuse may occur. Trust is the foundation for a healthy relationship (Fox 77). Each partner can feel free to be themselves knowing the other is trustworthy. Communication is required for a healthy relationship (81). Being able to talk freely to each other helps to learn about each other. This allows them to be more personal and truly understand each other. Self-confidence is a great quality to have for a relationship to be successful. With!

Family, friends, and the opposite sex have the greatest influence over future relationships. They help a person to grow and gain knowledge about themselves. Teens must realize their family will always be there, so it is wise to build a strong, loving relationship with them during these times of drastic changes. Building relationships with true friends is so important during one's life. A person will have someone always there who understands and can help them when no other person can. Dating relationships h

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