Parenting Teens Is Hard! How to Handle, “You Don’t Understand Me!” by Lisa Lane Filholm

A teenager's constant refrain is, "You don't understand me!" But while they long for parents who ‘get’ them, they develop covert, anti-parent personalities. Often, gifted teens pull the "Little Man Tate," blowing huge opportunities (or sabotaging scholarship offers or throwing AP tests) in a misplaced attempt to assert their independence and control their lives. 

A parent's best course? 

Resist labels; free them from OUR expectations. Give them space to breathe; listen closely when they define themselves. Trust their messy, personal journeys to themselves.