Parents can't guard their teen from harmful music and books if they have no idea what their teen is listening to or reading. A mother of one of my patients was so surprised to find her daughter was dabbling deeply into the occult, yet she had given her a series of novels on witchcraft and vampires for Christmas the year before. Take the sample quiz located in the margin on the right, check out your score, and see if you know all you can know about your teen. This last instruction is crucial. If you do not know what makes your teen happy, sad, angry or passionate, you will not know when to key in when something's wrong.
All negative behavior is foreshadowed by some sort of mood change or behavioral change.
If a parent doesn't know their teen intimately, they won't know when the downward spiral begins. If you are aware of your teen's desires, you will automatically notice when they are no longer interested in anything they once loved. A parent cannot afford not to know every inch of their teen's life the cost is too great and besides, who wouldn't want to be the one person who knows everything about their child. Teens long for someone to connect with, and someone to love them for who they are. If you aren't there to be that person for them, they will find someone else to take your place.