Adolescent children will cooperate where they feel confident their behaviors will be accepted. Too many parents don't recognize individual characteristics in their adolescent child. Parents quickly criticize the child for what are really pretty normal developmental rebellions, such as hair, clothes and personal space. These same parents often fail to correct or even acknowledge more serious, and dangerous, issues such as drugs, intimate relationships and wrong peers. Some social learning theory may help parents understand why an adolescent child's behavior constantly changes, seems unstable and can create enormous stress for all family members.
Adolescence follows the developmental stage of puberty.
The secondary sexual changes which occurred during puberty created a new focus on the child. Adolescent children begin to look for models to identify with and simultaneously begin to operate independent of the family system. Adolescents thrive on structure simply for the fact there is little predictability in their lives. Parents should focus on providing a structure, and they can utilize community resources to help. For example, parents who cannot be home for their children can call on community centers, boys and girls clubs, churches and schools to provide activities where caring adult supervision is available.