If you have teenagers, then you are in for either the best time of your parenting life or the worst. I’m not sure at what age your fun-loving kids turn into hormonal blobs in angry, frustrated, adult-sized bodies with no concept of maturity and the mentality of a ten-year-old, but this can be prevented!

The things you do with your kids when they are young will spill over into what they become when they are teenagers, and subsequently when they are adults. It is so important for both parents to spend real time with kids putting as many opportunities in front of them as humanly possible: sewing, building, cooking, welding, reading, writing, hiking, or any of the million and one real opportunities and adventures our wonderful country has to offer.

Keep your kids away from pacifiers for your convenience, such as TV, friends, computers, hand-held electronics, anything that does not require family interaction. Give a kid a plot of dirt, some shovels, and some string to plant a garden. Take them to the beach and let them feel the breeze in their hair while looking for treasures.

"Keep your kids away from pacifiers for YOUR convenience"

Memories from fun activities build the foundation of interests. Make time for your kids, and they won’t go looking for worthless, time-wasting things to do, and they won’t look for love and acceptance in the wrong type of friends!

When you build a real foundation for children, they will turn into interested teens. How many teenagers do you know who have interests in healthy things, or even have any interest at all except in their Social Media page?

I have met so many teens who look at me with their goat eyes, and after a few words with them I find that they have nothing to look forward to in life. Most of them have been spoiled beyond belief and feel there is almost no hope for a bright future, although I can usually dig deep and bring to the surface a little glimmer of something they were inspired by at some time in their lives.

Be a hero for your child and be interested in everything for them, so they can be inspired by you. Let them know that life is full of endless opportunities, not endless dead ends.