Monitor and supervise your teen's
activities with parental sensitivity

• Parental supervision is recognized as a key factor that can lessen adolescent problem behaviour.

• Monitoring must be balanced with parental sensitivity so as not to become over-intrusive and unnecessarily invade your teen's privacy.
• You can monitor your teen's behaviour simply by being present ( eg. before and after he or she goes out ) and asking a few simple questions in a neutral (non accusatory) tone.
• Model the practice of keeping family members informed, by keeping them aware of your whereabouts outside the home.
• Too much supervision and monitoring can lead to increased teen problem behaviour because teens may then act out to exercise their need to freedom from parental over-protective constraints.

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