When our children reach a certain age parents may tend to think that teenagers are mature enough to take care of themselves. Although some teenagers are more responsible than others, its rare to find one that is fully responsible in all areas since in most cases, the more responsible teenagers have also been exposed to less temptation, peep pressure and outside influences.
Teenagers are familiar with texting or making a call while riding in a car and may feel that this is okay after they get their lisense and begin to drive. Let them know and give them real life examples that they can take to heart in order to protect them from bending these rules. Explain that even if they don’t cause an accident, they can still be taken to a nice cozy jail cell if they drive or text while talking on phone. Responsibility is about accepting consequences and if they make the mistake of taking someones life, no amount of work or money can ever make up for a permanent loss.
The other place to touch on when talking to teenagers about safety is the internet. Many of them may take in a lot of bad behavior while online. It is important to let them know that sometimes predators disguise themselves as a teenager or child in order to meet up with them face to face. On the other hand, you don’t want them to get too wound up in the online world and become anti-social in real life settings, so its important to know where the lines are and which people are safe to talk with and meet with.
Things like cyber bullying are becoming more common and if a child goes through this they may face the dangers of depression and even suicidal thoughts. So make sure your teenager knows something about this and that when they open up to strangers online, they are also opening up to possibly get hurt.
Most importantly, you may find that you are now leaving you teenager home alone more often. This is important since one day they will be on their own in their own place. Although a lot of parents think of ways to prevent their teenagers from acting up and throwing parties, there are basic safety precautions that every child or teen who is home alone should know. See our article: Home Alone Checklist (simple safety tips for kids home alone)