5 Tips for Parents of girls

5 tips for parents of girls adapted from a talk by a psychologist who has worked with many many teens over the years.

1. Negotiate the rules early – start conversations about values, sex, alcohol, drugs, appropriate/inappropriate behaviour early.
2. Use consequential language ie, your choices have consequences (good/not so good).
3. Don’t be a doormat.
4. Always say what you mean and mean what you say.
5. Use non-verbal management strategies eg, turning off the TV or disabling a computer.

Key questions to ask yourself when you consider how to parent your child:

1. What is safe?
2. What is fair?
3. What is reasonable?

And, never forget, you were an adolescent once yourself :-)