How to Make Your Teens Successful Adults

I once met a woman who lived with her 22 year old son and 24 year old daughter. Well, I should rephrase that her 22 year old son and 24 year old daughter lived with her. The woman complained and complained about how she was tired of being broke because she paid all of the bills. Her son would give her $10-$20 bucks here and there whenever he came into money. I asked her what her son was doing with his life and she said "hang with friends, play video games and listen to music." I was stunned at the way a grown man spent his days but I was not surprised. Her daughter was in college but was also a mother to a vibrant 5 year old who could consistently clutter up the home. I was not surprised at this living situation either.

You see my friend had always been lenient with her children and gave them no guideline to live by. Their failure to leave the nest was partly her fault. Many parents are unaware how negatively their leniency can affect their adult children's future. Some parents don't mind having their children live with them through adulthood but others may want that long awaited space. If you want your children to be independent adults then you must steer them into the right direction and allow them to fend for themselves a little bit, so that they can learn the value of life and labor. Below are some ways to prepare your children for an independent future.

At a young age you should enroll your children into extracurricular activities so that they have a place to be at a certain time. This will teach them the importance of time so that when they become older they become punctual. Enrolling your children into extracurricular activities also prevents them from having too much time on their hands and nothing to do. It is important to direct children's free time into something resourceful and time consuming for them. Children who are left to hang without supervision often get into trouble.

If your child wants material items have them work for it. You should not buy your child everything that he wants. When he gets to become of working age have him purchase those material items for himself. This will teach him the value of a dollar. If you keep buying things for your kids they will never learn the value of money and will think that you will always buy them what they need.

Take your children out. Even if you do not have money you should still take your children out for walks or even a picnic. This will help you bond and bring you closer together. You should avoid spending all of your weekends cooped up at home doing separate things. There should be a bond built within your family unit. This creates security and love which influence independence.

Do homework together- Even when your child enters his teens be sure that he gets his homework done. Completing homework also teaches children how to become responsible. It teaches them a sense of order. If children see that you care then they will care too.

Teach your children how to do laundry- The sooner they learn the better. This may seem like an irrelevant step but it is actually very important. If you teach your children how to wash their own clothes and they do it successfully, they will get the confidence to do more on their own.

Give them chores. Chores are very important for teaching children responsibility and order. It teaches them how to respect their home and to keep it sanitary. If you do all the housework your children will never learn how to keep house.

Give them a curfew. Curfews are essential to the emotional being of young children. Although kids seem to despise curfews they also find comfort in knowing that someone at home cares enough to make sure that they arrive at home on time. Curfews show your children that you care for them.

Discipline them for bad grades/bad behavior- disciplining children for bad behavior shows them that you expect them to excel in school work and that you want them to be the best that they can be. This teaches them the importance of good work ethic which will help them tremendously in the work force.

Teach them to drive- If you have your license and a car go with your child to get a permit and then teach him how to drive. Learning to drive is important as it opens up a window of opportunity when it comes to future job search.

Teach them to pay bills- As an adult your child will be continuously paying bills. You have to tech them the different methods of paying bills and how to make their due dates so that when they get older they will be able to pay bills without error.

Don't bail them out all of the time. It's in parents' nature to be there for their children at all times and to fix all of their mistakes. Always fixing children's' mistakes makes them entitled. They will never learn right from wrong or how to fix their own problems. As a parent, you sometimes have to let children make mistakes on their own so that they learn for instance, if your child always "forgets" to pay a bill do not pay it for him. If you pay his late bills all of the time he will continue not to pay them because he knows that you will do it.

Give them a timeframe to move out of the home. This might be hard to do but if you believe that your child is financially ready to move then you should give him the boost. If you do not mind your child staying at home but would like him to contribute with housework or finances, let him know. If he does not comply with helping keep house or paying rent or bills then you should give him the boot. If he does not comply with your wishes you have every right to remove him from your home and you should.