Do you feel like your kids listen to you? Do you want your kids to talk to you more? Do you feel like there is too much conflict in your family? If so, this blog may point you in the right direction.
Parenting in the Sandy, UT area or anywhere these days can be very difficult. Your kids are influenced by so many sources and not all of them are positive. You may feel like your ability to control what happens to your kids is somewhat limited. And as much as you care about them and want to protect them, lack of control is a hard idea to swallow.
Many parents across the country become aware of signs of problem behaviors in their kids. These may include:
- Addiction to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, or pills
- Anger, irritability, outbursts, or tantrums
- Bedwetting
- Bullying
- Changes in eating
- Changes in friends
- Drop in attendance and grades
- Early sexual activity
- Fighting or gangs
- Isolation
- Missing school
- Nightmares
- Physical symptoms (belly aches, headaches, chest pain)
- Radically new styles of dress
- Running away
- Self-harm, cutting, or suicidal ideation
- Sexual addictions
When you start to feel like your relationship with your kids is changing or becoming more emotionally distant, it makes sense that you would want to intervene. I used to work at a wilderness program designed to help troubled youth. Parents sent their kids to us and in essence said, “Please, fix my kid.” Many times teens were able to do well out in the novel environment, but when sent back home to their family were unable to maintain the positive changes.
This is why I recommend family therapy to families who are experiencing these difficulties. If you come to therapy too, you are not inadvertently sending the message that your child is the problem. You show up too. You gain new parenting skills. You have a safe environment to reconnect with your kids. The whole family has potential to change together to make lasting impact on your long-term relationships.
