Often, the most difficult times as a parent is when you feel like you are pleading with your child to listen to you give them that life altering advice that you have learned through the years through the “School of Hard-Knocks” just for them to seemingly tune you out as if you aren’t even in the room. The frustration can be overwhelming at times. I want to encourage you, that even when it feels as if all hope is gone and as if they aren't listening to a word that you have to say—they hear you!

     One of the worst mistakes that we can make is to assume that they don’t hear us or are ignoring us. Most likely they are, for the moment! But that doesn’t mean it isn’t being stored in their memory banks. Student after student that I deal with mention the things that you (their parents) say to them—how their parent was right about such-and-such, etc. Those moments are so very encouraging to me because it lets me know that they are hearing, even when they aren’t acting on it.    

    Prov. 22:6 instructs us to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. This doesn’t mean that in “the middle” he won’t depart—there may be some rough spots now… but in the end, when that child reaches full maturity, they will come to the full realization that you were right all along. Just like you and I did when we matured. Be encouraged and know that with time things will iron out. In the meantime, here is a link that may help you through some of those moments:

      http://www.parentingteens.com

Working together!