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Celebrate Your Teenager During the Year of the Air Force Family (YoAFF)!

  • Published
  • By Christopher Marble
  • Airman Family & Readiness Center chief
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Parenting a teenager can be fun, exciting and rewarding. Really! Watching your children process through this developmental voyage of discovery should not totally disrupt your family life. During this journey a teenager is dealing with a body that's developing in new ways, wrestling with strong feelings about sex, and an innate sense of abstract thinking, against authority, also known as rebellion and sometimes it 's even your authority! At the end of this journey the goal is to become someone who knows and lives by his own values. Chances are the teenager will probably be someone who respects and enjoys you, and holds many of the same ideals you do. The awkward process of a teenager's discovering and learning to express her self is absolutely normal and desirable. In fact, it is a foundational and fundamental part of the developmental process. If this process doesn't take place, the potential for real problems exist. A person who hasn't challenged her parents' authority or who has been intimidated by it has a hard time establishing positive self esteem or a sense of self-worth. To find out more, contact the A&FRC at 247-2246.