Setting Boundaries and Guidelines

Boundaries are key to any healthy relationship and that is especially true for parent and teen relationships. Boundaries provide your teen help with understanding what behavior is acceptable and what is unacceptable. Setting rules may seem harsh, but if you do not set strict boundaries you will allow your teen to continue their drug use and harm your family. By setting rules and staying steadfast about them you force your teen to take responsibility for their own actions. Giving your teen help with understanding their own boundaries and how to use boundaries to guide their actions and promote self-control can be an incredibly powerful tool to avoid destructive behavior.

Setting Boundaries Within Your Family

Boundaries are key to ensuring that you and your family are not taken advantage of if your teen begins to abuse drugs, alcohol, and negative behavior. When deciding on boundaries it is important not to choose ones that are easy to stick to. Instead, make it so that your teen will have to take responsibility for their actions. The more they are forced to confront consequences when exhibiting negative behavior the more likely they will be to avoid those behaviors. Examples of good boundaries include:

• No drug or alcohol use
• No one under the influence of drugs or alcohol are allowed in your home
• Your family will not lie to cover up negative consequences that occur from your teen’s behavior
• If they use drugs or alcohol you will not give or lend money to them, as they have abused your trust

Boundaries that set consequence and provide guidelines so provide your teen help to understand what is acceptable behavior and what is not.

Give Your Teen Help Setting Their Own Boundaries

Teaching your teen how to set boundaries for their own behavior to avoid being put into situations that could tempt them to behave negatively can help them to feel accomplished when avoiding bad behavior. Self-control and self-awareness are important aspects of growing up and your teen can learn positive, adult behavior by setting strict guidelines for themselves. If your teen knows what behavior leads to dangerous situations and what they can do to avoid them they are more likely to remove themselves from those situations to avoid negative consequences set by your family.