Laurel Schmidt Y our teenager stumbles from his room after 14 hours of sleep, wolfs down a slice of cold pizza, then heads toward the couch for a quick nap. Before you give up or do something desperate, let's consider the possibility that some of your teen's slovenly, sarcastic or indifferent behavior that drives you crazy just might be normal behavior that is part of the teenage agenda.
Agendas describe what people hope to achieve or get from a given situation.
Understanding your teenager's agenda, values, expectations and goals, and how it differs from yours can be a major step toward preserving your mental health and helping your teen succeed with the difficult job of becoming an adult. The Different Agendas In general, your agenda as a parent is to finish raising the child upon whom you've lavished years of patience, generosity and love. Your goal is to see that the values you cherish are firmly embedded in your child's brain. And you probably worry that if it doesn't' happen soon, this kid will never become the wonderful adult you hoped to produce. Like many of us, you may have felt relatively successful at parenting until puberty struck.