Fatherhood Factor

For all the "dealings" of dads...

Tyler Jacobson

How To Help Your Teen Reach THEIR Potential, Not YOURS

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It can be tough to look at your child and not just see a mini copy of yourself. Considering that for the majority of parents, their children are made up of half their DNA, it can lull you into the idea that things that you wanted to achieve will be the same that your son or daughter wants to do.

If you want your teen to reach their full potential, and want to avoid pushing them into being a resentful copy of you, there are several steps you will need to take.

Check Your Personal Goals At The Door

One of the first things you will need to do is check your personal goals and expectations. By projecting your personal goals on your teens, they may feel undue pressure to meet a standard that they aren’t really interested in.

For example, say you wanted to play basketball at least at the college level. A knee injury during high school may have put that goal out of your reach, but then you have a child who you push into basketball, so your dream can be realized through them.

But if that’s not something your teen really wants, your personal goal can cause a lot of stress, internal conflict, and potentially lead to depression if they feel like they are letting you down. As depression is a significant troubled teen risk factor, it is critical that your unachieved goals be put away so that your teenager doesn’t feel pushed into reaching your unrealized potential and dreams. 

Provide Your Teen With Opportunities For Discovery

Once you shelve your expectations on what your teen should be doing, your next step is to open the door to other opportunities. A study that followed the engagement of children and young adults when it came to their activities showed that those who were allowed to choose their activities had a much higher rate of engagement.

So, if you want your teen to find something they are truly passionate about, you have to give them the chance to discover it. Some ways you can assist them in finding what they want to be involved in is by:

  • Encouraging them to try new things, whether it’s cooking at home or trying out for a team.
  • Sign them up for short-term workshops and summer camps so your teenager can sample a range of activities from musical instruments to self-defense.
  • Suggest your teen volunteer in the community or at school. Volunteer positions allow teens specifically to start to see where they may want to focus their future career aspirations.

Another benefit of providing your teenager with ample positive activities is that you can lessen the chance that they will turn to drugs. As boredom is one of the most common factors when it comes to teens and drug abuse, by keeping your teen busily engaged in discovering and developing their potential, you can significantly lower their drug use risks.

Become Involved In Their Activities

As your teen finds what they are passionate about, your wholehearted support needs to be behind them. With your clear support, whether it’s just your presence at their performance or your chauffering abilities, your teen will be able to more fully engage in their activity and reach their full potential.

In fact, research shows that parental support is key to success in childhood, development, and adolescence. Your level of support and engagement can not only predict how well your teen does in school, but affect their overall health, and whether or not they manage to reach their potential.

While teens can reach some level of success without active parental support, their chances are far lower, and it is more likely that your lack of support will hinder your teens’ ability to be successful. So, if you want the best for your son or daughter, be sure to become actively involved in their interests and education.

As you manage your roles of being a dad, a cheerleader, a discovery coach, and so much more, your teens will more easily become who they were meant to be, rather than just the person you wish you were.

How To Manage All Your Different Roles Besides Just “Dad”

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As society and the traditional family change, parents have had to adapt to different parenting methods from those of previous generations. Fathers are finding that their roles are evolving too and now they have to wear different hats in the family.

As a father, you know you are so much more than just “dad”. You double up as your kids’ playmate, sometimes their friend and companion and other times you’re their teacher and life coach. This is in addition to being a disciplinarian as well as a provider and protector.

It’s a lot for anyone to handle and just like moms, plenty of fathers nowadays struggle to have it all. It’s definitely challenging having to juggle the different fatherhood roles while still being a loving and supportive spouse.

So what’s a father to do?

Here’s how you can balance and manage your different roles:

Put things in perspective.

When it comes to parenting, things don’t always go as planned. Maybe your kids fail to cooperate or you forget to finish those chores you’d set out to do. Perhaps things aren’t going great at work, putting your plans of securing your family’s financial future in jeopardy. When life gets messy, it’s good to take a break, remind yourself that things will work out eventually, recharge and dive back in.

Ask for help when you need it.

Gone are the days when men were expected to be tough and stoic, bearing their burdens with no complaints. These days, it’s ok for men to admit to needing help. If you find yourself overwhelmed –either at work or at home- admit it and ask for assistance.

A little patience goes a long way.

When stress levels shoot up, it becomes easy to lose your temper and patience and not just with your kids. However, reacting in anger or frustration will only make things worse. So whether you’re frustrated by your own shortcomings or annoyed by something your wife or kids did, remind yourself to be kind and patient.

Cultivate a sense of humor.

Fatherhood is an epic ride. You never know what you’ll be dealing with next and while this might be a source of anxiety, you can choose to see things differently. Spotting the humor in different situations will certainly help to keep you sane and emotionally healthy.

Model good behavior.

Teens these days face plenty of risk factors and could benefit from having good role models to emulate. Your kids look up to you so you have to lead by example, modeling things like responsibility, healthy conflict and anger management, healthy eating etc. and basically showing your kids what responsible adulthood is all about.

Learn to let go sometimes.

Thanks to social media, the world has become a much noisier place and amidst all the advice about “parenting the right way”, it’s easy to feel like you’re failing. One of the most effective ways of silencing those inner and outer critics is realizing what you, as a father and parent, are and aren’t responsible for. For instance, you’re not responsible for making sure your kid is always happy. It’s also not up to you to live up to others expectations.

Realize that you have to let some smaller things go each day- your child’s homework doesn’t need to be perfectly done every day and your kids’ lives aren’t ruined if you don’t sign them up to every extracurricular activity available. Pick your battles and let the rest go.

Being a modern father isn’t easy but if you keep an open mind and remain willing to learn and relearn your different roles, you’ll find that it’s all worth it.

I Suspect That My Teen Has A Drug Addiction, How Do I Talk To Him About It?

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You can read all the articles you want on understanding a loved one’s addiction, but when it’s your child that you suspect has an addiction, all practical advice seems to fly out the window and you are left unsure how to help them.

As teens who are suffering from drug addiction are often moody, secretive, and more prone to lashing out, it can be incredibly difficult to know how to approach them about your concerns. To help you overcome this hurdle to help your troubled teen, there are several steps you can take.

Find Non-confrontational Ways To Start The Conversation

Even when teens aren’t struggling with drug addiction, opening up any conversation can be tricky, especially if the habit of open conversation between you and your teen hasn’t been established. Either way, it is important that you approach your teen in non-confrontational ways to open up the conversation about your concerns. Some ways you can try are:

  • Go on a drive with your teen and talk about some of the teen drug abuse statistics you looked up beforehand. Since you are in the car, your teen can’t just exit the conversation, but they won’t have to make direct eye contact, which can make teens defensive.
  • Take a walk with your teen and talk about your own experiences with drug use and what you have learned. Even if you have not used drugs yourself, it is likely someone in your circle of family and friends have, and you can discuss how your loved one’s drug abuse impacted those around them.
  • Make your questions open-ended which cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. For example, instead of saying, “Has anyone offered you drugs?” try something like, “How would you feel about someone who offers you drugs?” Even if the only answer is, “I dunno, weird I guess,” you can pursue that line, asking them why it makes them feel weird and what your teen’s response would be.

Talk To Your Teenager About The Signs You See

If the initial forays into opening the conversation on your teen’s drug use don’t help your teen talk to you about their addiction, you will need to be more direct. It can be as simple as saying, “I’m concerned that some of the changes you’ve been undergoing are linked to drug abuse.” Likely, your teen will deny it, so be prepared to ask them about the signs you have seen.

If you aren’t sure what the signs of teen drug abuse are, here are some things which you can focus on when talking to your teen:

  • Avoids family time
  • Has become highly secretive
  • Extreme changes in appetite
  • Mood swings with startling highs and lows
  • Lack of good hygiene
  • Covering up smells with mint or body sprays
  • Drop in grades
  • Loss of interest in hobbies and extracurriculars
  • Weight fluctuations

Be Clear About The Family Stance On Drug Use

As you talk to your teen about their drug addiction, it is essential that you are clear about your family’s stance on drug abuse. You should also be clear that this stance applies to street drugs as well as the kinds your teen may find in your home, such as cigarettes, alcohol, and prescription pills. It is surprising, but many teens don’t consider abusing prescription drugs as bad as using street drugs, though the addictive results are clearly the same.

If you haven’t talked about the repercussions of breaking the family rules concerning drug use, be sure to bring them up as you talk to your teen about your suspicions around their drug addiction. Also, along with the consequences, let your teen know that you are ready and willing to help them if your teen is ready to be honest and face down their addiction. Because, with perseverance and support, you can help your teen as they struggle through their drug addiction and be a key player in helping your teen recover and move forward again.