The role of a parent is fluid. What you do one day may not be the same that you will do the next, and as time passes and your children grow from little ones into teens, your role can undergo a complete transformation. The following are how this role changes.
The child is less dependent on you
By the time a child becomes a teen, the days when the child needs you to pick out his or her clothing are long gone. They may not need you to call their teachers anymore or to set up playdates They can stay home on their own in most cases. As you enter this stage of parenthood you may step back from a lot of the duties that you once held.
Your role may turn more to one to guiding the teens to make their own decisions instead of making them for them
Instead of telling your teen exactly what food to eat, you now have the role of teaching them how to make these decisions for themselves. In a few short years your teens will be independent of you, and no one will be standing behind them telling them to lay off the junk food and eat their peas and broccoli. You want to help teach them how to make the right decisions on their own and how to logically think about each and every move they make.
You will need to deal with more grown-up pressures and challenges your teens may face
You may long for the days when your child's biggest worry was when it was going to be his turn on the swing. Teens often face a lot of peer pressure. They may have to resist potentially life-altering issues such as smoking, drugs, drinking, sexual relations and so forth. As the parent of a teen, you need to guide your children into making the right choices with regards to these things. You may have to help them through the heartache of broken relationships. You can no longer shelter them from everything but instead make sure that they understand that you will support them. You want them to know that they can come to you no matter what happens. If something starts to go wrong, you need to be on top of them to help them figure things out or get them extra help if needed.
The role of a parent of a teen can be a difficult one. You will start to deal with your teen on a more adult basis. Work to have mutual respect in the relationship. Even though he or she is older, you should also work to preserve quality family time. One thing that shouldn't change is your love and you should be sure to continue to tell him or her that you love them. Be willing to change. This is your chance to make a difference in your teen's life before he or she starts to make all of their own decisions.