Question: How to discipline a teenager?

Answer: This is difficult for parents to hear, but they don't need to. What is needed is a dose of respect and awareness that no matter how much we try, our children's path is already set. We can only help them be more satisfied with their decisions in the future. Not us. We need to put aside our perceptions of what we "think" is good for another person. We can only help them figure out what is good for them, even if we don't agree.

Parenting leaves a bitter taste in parent-child relationships, and it's hard to recover from that. We should treat them as friends because just being parents doesn't give us the right to interfere with their beliefs. It might be hormones, it might not. But no child resents being heard or at least listened to. We need to decide if we want to be a good parent or give the person freedom. Often, these two things are the same, even if society doesn't agree.

The moment we decide to have children, we accept the decision to start a new life, not continue our own. So, why would we want the child to follow our path?