What advice would you give to parents on how to help teens cope with adolescence?

Serious or lighthearted advice! I'm just curious to see what people will say! Its a good question for both teens and parent of teens. Thank everyone!What advice would you give to parents on how to help teens cope with adolescence?
I'm a junior in high school and this is what i think. (I put in some personal experiences, but they'lln points are in caps)





-TELL YOUR KIDS TO HAVE FRIENDS THAT WILL BOOST THEM UP, NOT BRING THEM DOWN


*Personal experience*: Although I am a junior, I have two senior friends that I would consider myself very close with. Both of them are good influences, and i look up to both of them. They give me advice about the classes they've already taken (for instance, one of them helped me write out my first physics lab report. The teacher returned most of them because they weren't up to his standards but said mine looked pretty good!) and if i ever have any questions i can go to them for help.





-HELP BOOST YOUR KID'S SELD CONFIDENCE


This will help them stand up to peer pressure and probably be happier overall


Don't do things like criticizing your child about their weight. Though you may think it's ok to tell your child their thighs are getting a bit thick or whatever it can really damage their self image. With all these images of stick-like girls and popular beliefs about weight, the last thing they need is a parent reinforcing these things. If you're concerned about your child's weight, then get the whole family active.








-DON'T TRY TO BE YOUR CHILD'S FRIEND. YOU ARE A PARENT FIRST.


';If you drink/smoke/have sex, I'd rather it be in the house'; NO!!!!! Don't get caught up with trying to be the cool parent. Your child's safety is what's important. You can worry about why you're not in your kid's top myspace friends later.





-BE INVOLVED WITH YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL LIFE


that doesn't mean you have to be president of the pta, volunteer to chaperone all their field trips plus the prom etc. What i mean is at least know who your child's teachers are. And know if there's any subjects your child is having trouble with and take the necessary actions to get them back on track. I know from experience that in some subjects like chemistry and algebra, things build off of eachother, so once you're lost, it's hard to play catch up.





-POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT


I think that's what it's called... but anyway, find time between the yelling and punishment to encourage your kid. I had a problem with this last year. I was falling behind in chemistry (idk how i managed a c on the final) and when I got my 4th quarter progress report, I felt like my parents thought i was ok with my grade (a D) when really, i was just as dissappointed as they were. I'm usually an a and b student with the occasional c lol. But they didn't realize is that i was trying really hard in algebra (the class i had a c in) and i actually ended up getting an A on the final and the teacher said it was the highest grade in the class (really). Don't focus so much on the negative that you forget about the things your kid IS doing right. Even if it's only a few things, hearing that there is something you're proud of us for can really make a difference.





-LET YOUR KID KNOW THAT MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX THE MOST IMPORTANG THING AND NEITHER ARE THEIR OPINIONS


If you don't, they may think that attention from the opposite sex or lack thereof determines how attractive they are. I take pride in the fact that, when guys do try to ';talk to'; me, they don't just come up to me talking to me any kind of way. ( i.e ';how you doin' shawtyyyyy';) You'd want your daughter to be the type of girl guys see and say ';oh no, you can't get that one'; not the one viewed as easy. Teach your kids it's okay to have high standards and not to just settle for any kind of treatment from just anyone. Relationships shouldn't be the goal in high school. If they happen, they happen but they aren't everything.





That's all i can think of = DWhat advice would you give to parents on how to help teens cope with adolescence?
You should let them know everyday how much you love and care about them. You should try and moderate your rules and not say no to everything. Be accepting of some of the stages they go through. Dying hair, piercings, tattoos are part of a lot of teenagers experimental stage. let them get it out of their system! Try and be accepting of it and not put them down or taunt them. Teenagers are faced with so much these days, it is nice for them to have supportive and loving parents. I am not saying you should let your teenager run wild and do whatever they want. Just choose carefully the battles that you have with them.
just make sure u tell them that ur always ther for them if they wanna talk they can tell u anything.....absolutely anything and dont give them too many pep talks cuz they dont like that and if they have a genuine interest or talent let them do that whether it be music or horse riding just back them and tell them u'll back them and stuff like that!!
well i am 15 but if i were to give another teen some advice i would defnately have to say be yourself and have the best time of your life.live for yourself and get to know who you are.work hard but dont become a crazed fool about it.do what you have to do but dont make it boring.