When Your Teenager Has a Crush: 3 Ways to Help

Why is it so easy to assume that a teenager who has a romantic crush is in need of help?

Could it be that you are reminded of the somewhat universal hurt that goes along with being a teenager in love?

Regardless of the circumstances of your own experiences, however, there are at least 3 ways you can help your teenager who has a crush.

Admit the Possibility

One of the most fundamental ways you can help your teenager who has a crush is to just admit the possibility that your baby has grown up enough to have real romantic feelings. These romantic feelings can cause emotional distress and have to be recognized.

Remember that a romantic crush is significant because it can teach your teenager how to handle emotional disappointments. As you admit the possibility that your teenager has a crush, you can become a good guide since you aren't the one who is being overwhelmed by the same impulsive emotional reactions.

You can retain a particular objectivity, and this will benefit your teenager who has a crush.

Agree with Your Teenager

Another way you can help your teenager who has a crush is to agree that the object of their affection really is an appealing person.

In this, you are showing your isolated and hurting teenager that they have good judgment when it comes to romantic attachments. They've picked a good person to feel romantic towards and this is a positive thing.

Contrarily, you should never tease or condemn your teenager's feelings. Romantic feelings to a teenager are hardly "cute." These feelings can really hurt and should be addressed with kindness and even sympathy.

(Remember how you felt?)

Set Practical Limits

A final way you can help your teenager who has a crush is to set practical limits for how they may act on this crush. Because teenagers are impulsive in their romantic feelings, these practical limits will reinforce a much needed sense of objectivity.

The objectivity of family values and practical limits removes the pressure from the teenager who is trying to be impressive to the other person but doesn't know how to be.

If your daughter, for example, has an out of control crush but is too young to date, she will feel safely removed from the emotional chaos which comes from inexperience.

This means that she doesn't have to act blindly on romantic feelings because she's not allowed to date in the first place.

As part of the concern you feel, you can also help your teenager who has a crush by displaying pictures of the beloved person in your teenager's room and encouraging your teenager to feel okay about having such romantic feelings.

In sum, when your teenager has a crush, don't try to rush them through it. Hurt is normal and can be a growing experience..