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To deal with a troubled teenager, you should analyze how your teen behaves, be supportive of your teenager's good behaviors, be consistent when imposing rules, responsible behavior should be rewarded, and stick to your decisions.

Parenting is a challenging responsibility and even more in the case of rearing troubled teenagers. Families, particularly parents, can sometimes feel overwhelmed when a teenager's behavior becomes withdrawn, disrespectful or violent. You might already be well aware of the challenges involved in raising a problematic child if you have one yourself. Consider the following reminders when parenting troubled youth:

Analyze your child's behavior

Step one in understanding your teen's situation is to analyze the disruptive behaviors that your child exhibits. Examine what happens when your teen exhibits the unpleasant behavior and what consequences usually happen. Observe anything that might have caused the outburst. The observable facts you take into consideration may lead to a possible cause as to why your child exhibits difficult behavior. When you complete this step, you might be able to find a solution for your teen's negative behavior and some positive behaviors that you can replace the negative behavior with.

Encourage the teen's positive habits and behaviors

Good attitudes and positive behaviors can be developed through positive reinforcement. Simple encouraging acts like thanking your child for helping at home could be meaningful for him or her. As tempting as it might be to nag your teen when they grumble while working, try a different approach such as thanking them. It is also a good idea to explain the importance of good habits and how these can teach to become responsible and obedient.

Be consistent with the rules you set

If you are consistent in enforcing your rules, your teenager will feel that you are serious in what you say. Otherwise, they will not make it a point to obey you and will not respect what you say. You can better implement your rules if you set corresponding consequences for any violation. Be consistent with the consequence but also learn to explain the principle behind it to your teenager.

Compensate responsible behavior

While discipline and consequences are important, you should also learn to reward your teen for complying with the rules. For example, if your teen followed the curfew that you set, you can reward him or her by giving him longer curfew on Friday night or on weekends. By doing this, you are showing your teen that you notice both their positive and negative habits.

Be consistent in your decisions

Not only is it important to be consistent when setting rules, it is equally important to be consistent with your decisions as well. Don't lose your temper even if your teenager continues to argue unreasonably and never compromise with an unreasonable argument. Doing such will only make them feel that it is good to argue with you to get what they want.

Raising troubled teens can be challenging, but there are ways for you to effectively deal with the situation. However, in cases where your teen's negative behavior has become extreme, it might be wise to seek professional help.