Letting Teenagers Fail – Why It Matters - Terrific Parenting by Dr. Randy Cale

Everyone who has kids knows that parenting is one of the hardest things that anyone can attempt. While protecting your children should be at the center of a parent’s goals, providing too much protection can also be detrimental. Meaning, if parents are not allowing their children to fail in some respect during their childhood they are depriving them of real-life opportunities to learn. Failure allows children and then teenagers to learn to cope with feeling uncomfortable.

Key Takeaways:

The best parenting strategy for teenagers is not to keep them happy and comfortable at all times.
The older your teenager gets, the less you should be stepping in and taking control of their decisions.
Teenagers learn important responsibility and coping skills when they fail — crucial to success and happiness later in life.

“I doubt there are many parents who set out to undermine their kid’s learning opportunities. Approaches to parenting styles are influenced by a host of factors. Amidst all the advice, emotion, and business of family life it is easy for parenting approaches and motivations to get a bit confused.”