Posted by:
anonymous
(
)
Date: March 14, 2011 02:16PM
I am concerned. I think my 18yr old is partying on the weekends. When she comes home she looks hungover to me. I have told her I was concerned and that she can come to me to talk about whatever is going on but she denies that anything like partying is happening. I'm not sure whether I believe her but I am trying to provide a safe place for her to talk about it. She always misses at least one class or day of school each week and Mondays seem to be the most common day for her to miss. I thinks he is still hungover. She is usually basically a good kid. She will always have a near failing grade but seems to pull it up at the last minute before report cards.
I am finding it difficult to draw that line between being an understanding parent and being a hardass. I don't want to be too much of a softie, but I don't want to be one of those authoritarian parents whose kids have no choice but to rebel and they end up destroying their relationship with the kid in the process.
I don't know if this is a typical teen rebellion thing, typical teen experimenting or something more serious? How can I be sure if she doesn't or won't talk to me about it? Have any of you had to deal with this with your teens? What worked for you?