Such a thought process may lead the child to at first be shy or withdrawn around the newly returned parent. As you already know if you're the parent of an adolescent, they can have mood swings that go up and down like a roller coaster. One moment they are solving problems in a reasonable and logical way and the next may be reacting in a purely emotional and childlike fashion. So, your adolescent's reaction to your return may be characterized by mixed emotions. Like the school age child, your adolescent will likely be very excited to see the military parent again, if the relationship was amicable prior to the deployment.
Adolescents tend to be very sensitive about being unfavorably judged or criticized.
As with sons and daughters of any age, it's critical to give your adolescent some of each parent's undivided pleasant attention.