You must decide whether you will loan your teenager your car, bicycle, camera, radio, TV, clothes, or other possessions. Reasonable consequences for breaking house rules include loss of telephone, TV, stereo, and car privileges. Working for the money to repair or replace damaged articles is also appropriate. Rarely, you may need to ground your child for a day or a weekend. Use family conferences to negotiate house rules.
Some families find it helpful to have a brief meeting after dinner once a week.
At this time, your teenager can ask for changes in the house rules or bring up family issues that are causing problems. The family unit often functions better if the decision making is democratic. The objective of negotiation should be that both parties win. When your teenager is in a bad mood, she generally won't want to talk about it with you. If teens want to discuss a problem with anybody, it is usually a close friend.