Everyone has "down days". Maybe it's because of the bad weather, or the disappointing grades on a difficult test, and some days teenagers just act uninterested in life or school. But these symptoms(症状) often pass quickly, as teens move on to new school subjects, or meet with friends to prevent themselves from thinking what troubles them at the moment. But if a teenager displays symptoms of sadness for more than two lasting weeks, it might point to something serious.
As teenagers develop, they push new boundaries(边界), complain about rules and look for more free rights from their parents. According to the online Health Guide on Adolescent Development, parents must be lasting figures in their teenagers' life, providing safe boundaries for teens to grow, even if the teenagers act like these boundaries are unwanted.
Parents need to provide rules, while also remaining flexible(灵活的) and respectful of the growing teens' need for freedom. For example, teenagers will often feel frustrated, embarrassed, and even angry that thought they want freedom, they still need to ask their parents for an agreement to go to a friend's house, or need their mothers to take them to school.
The US Department of Education says that parents should respect and support their teen's choices as long as those choices won't have long-term harmful effects. For example, even if a parent doesn't enjoy the music his or her teen listens to, it's unlikely that the choice of music will prevent that teen from entering a good college, or lead to health problems. However, if that teen is drinking alcohol and driving, parents must get through strict punishments to teach that there are bad results for poor choices that come with increased freedom.
