Coping with various profound changes in personality, intellect and social status can throw teens off balance. As they adjust, teenagers may behave in ways that can be disconcerting to unprepared parents. How the parents respond to this behaviour depends a lot on how they interpret it. Parents who are expecting trouble and take their teens' actions at face value may well unwittingly encourage the conflict they fear. By learning about adolescence and the challenges that lie ahead, parents can minimize conflict and promote psychological growth in their children.
Teenagers seem to do the most outrageous things, but it is all part of growing up.
Some so-called negative behaviour is considered normal for teenagers as their ideas about the world develop. You can choose to see this kind of behaviour as defiance of authority or as a display of integrity. It is important for parents to remember that in rebelling, teens are fulfilling an important psychological need. Parents can cope by gritting their teeth and tolerating some of this behaviour for the sake of their teens' development. Save your concern for truly destructive behaviour.