1. 10 Tips for Dealing with Teens
1. Teenagers are not adults. No matter how much they might look or act like adults, teenagers are still children, in
the best sense of the word. For every moment of maturity, they have other moments where they grumble about
taking out the trash, neglect their responsibilities, fight with their best friends and then make up an hour later, and
choose goofing off over doing their work. Don’t expect them to act like adults. Expect them to act like young people
who are still growing, adjusting, stumbling, and trying to figure it all out.
2.Teenagers need time. Particularly during discussions, young people need a little time to think about what they
want to say. Resist the temptation to jump in with “the right answer,” and don’t feel you have to fill in every
moment of silence with talking.
3. Set Clear Guidelines. Youth often need specific instructions to follow when they are doing a task. Don’t leave
anything unsaid, make sure that you are very clear and precise.
4. Guide Rather than Tell. Try not to tell a youth anything he can discover for himself! We all learn more by
doing rather than listening. Personal discovery is much more powerful than being given the answers. When we
discover things for ourselves we make them our own truth.
5. Appropriate Responses to Youth Behavior. Never embarrass a youth in front of his peers. When there are
problems, try to deal with a youth alone. Never attack the person, only the behavior. Rewards and punishments must
be appropriate and aimed to encourage positive behavior while discouraging negative behavior. When a youth
breaks a rule, don’t overreact with harshness, but correct the problem with compassion. Students need to know what
will happen when a rule is broken and the consequences must be fair and fit the action.
6. Build Relationships with Youth. Take time to get to know each youth. Teenagers will be teenagers and are by
nature restless, hyper, and noisy persons. As you build relationships with each youth, and they feel that you
appreciate and accept them, you will find a mutual trust and respect growing. Youth are much more responsive to
the guidance, advice and even discipline of those they view as caring.
7. Be Open-minded.Be open to and nonjudgmental about young people's insights and suggestions. Let them know
that their involvement is important.
8. Treat teens as individuals. Don't assume one teen represents the views of many teens. Assure the young person
that you are interested in her/his individual opinion and don't expect him/her to speak for an entire population.
9. Insist on their respect and reciprocate. A very important key to working with adolescents is insisting that they
treat you with respect. No adult is comfortable working with teens in any capacity who are rude or disrespectful. But
while you should insist on their respect you will find it easier to achieve if you reciprocate the deal and give them
respect as well. Kids don't like to be treated without respect any more than do adults. As the person in charge one of
the best keys to working with adolescents needs to be developing, not just individual respect for you as the leader ,
but a climate of respect that embraces everyone.
10. Give instructions, not orders. Young people are often at that point in their lives when they can be highly
sensitive to a tone or the way in which communication is handled. If you are looking for a key to working with
adolescents, remember to give instructions to them that are clear, concise and most important not condescending.