Filed under: how to get your teen to listen, parent modeling, parenting teenagers, parenting teens, rick zapf, teen communication, teen help, teen parenting, teen piercing, Uncategorized | Tags: how to get your teen to listen, parenting teens, piercing, rick zapf, teen communication, teen help, teen piercing
My teenager informed me that on their 18th birthday I have no say if they want to get pierced. Now, I am frighfully counting the weeks until they are 18! What am I to do?
Unfortunately, at the ripe and mature ageof 18 your teenager is an ADULT! Not!!!
There is a reason why dependent children can stay on your insurance, continue to have higher car insurance, and continue to need parental support into their early twenties. I have talked with parents that have gone either way and the end result is the parents stressed way too much over the decision.
Teenagers want the opportunity to challenge parental control and yes they can go get anything they want pierced at 18 years old.
But for most it is just a phase and after the novelity wears off or it gets infected becasuse they didn’t take good care of it, their life returns to teenager normalcy. But what would happen if you said yes? What would happen if you were the over protective parent that had way too much information and continued to be overly involved? Would it, could it, rob them of their thunder? Their rebelliousness?
Is getting pierced better or worse than other possibilites at 18 (tatoo, felony, consensual sex, dwi, etc.)?
Of course I’ve talked with other parents who say, “fine, that is adult decision and one that can be made on your own without us or our financial stablitiy in the future.” The choice still is ultimately yours the parent, not the teenager. To what extreme do you want your way to be the way?
Rick Zapf, MS
Teen Communication Consultant
