ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at many ways that parents can influence and help their child without needing to be in control. Most teenage choices will be made when parents are not around, but parents can still contribute towards the decision-making process. Any parenting approach may have opposite effects to those intended and young people may abandon healthy habits due to peer pressure. Young people can be invited to have a say in domestic matters that previously happened without their input. Young people who experience conflict in one area are likely to test other boundaries too, and so arguments over one issue can easily spread to arguments about most things, leading to communication breakdown and rebellion. Privacy and secrecy are normal teenage requirements because the changes both physically and emotionally are scary and, by their very nature, induce a reduction in confidence. Teenagers are acutely aware of their own and other people's bodies, clothing, possessions, behaviour and relationships.
