What Are Normal Teen Problems and Should You Be Worried?

I have two children, one of which is my 20 year old daughter who experienced her share of teen problems. The other is my son who is now 14 and is certainly giving my husband and I a run for our money.
Some parents will say that girls are easier than boys and some will say the exact opposite.
My opinion on this subject is each individual child is different and they all have their problems.

Teen problems are normal to some degree.

They all seem to hate their parents and want to get as far away from us as possible most of the time. Then the next thing you know they are coming to you crying because something tragic happened and they want you to make everything all better just like you did when they were toddlers.

When your child yells at you and tells you that they hate you, you can rest assure that you are not alone and these are very normal teen problems.

The best way to deal with it is to tell your child in a calm voice that you love them anyway and when they calm down and want to talk normal that you will discuss it then and walk away. They really don't mean what they say.

Part of being a teenager is experiencing teen problems.

They are fighting you and themselves for their independence and unfortunately most of the time without even knowing it your standing in their way.

They are trapped in an unfamiliar body that is growing out of control and flooded with hormones.
Peer pressure is obviously big teen problems. It fortunately is one of the problems that fall into the normal range. I have learned from experience that you can't make the right decisions for your child in this area no matter how badly you want to.
Stay active in your child's life and talk to them as much as you can. They still need your guidance and hopefully with enough love and support they will learn to make decisions that are in their best interest. Hanging out with the wrong crowd is also big teen problems. This one still falls on the fairly normal range. You have no control over these children but they sure seem to have some kind of control over your child.
Children will hang out with those that accept them.

They are becoming their own person and as long as they are not getting into trouble with the law or doing drug then maybe you should let them pick their own friends as hard as that may seem.
Teen problems when I was a kid, a million years ago was talking on the phone.
We didn't have cell phones.

But now it seems every kid has a cell phone and an iPod and a computer and a play station the list could go on forever.
The point is we live in an information age.

I believe that this is making our children smarter, BUT that doesn't mean that they shouldn't have limits set for these things. We need to have social skills and the only way we are going to teach that is through interaction with people.

Most Teen problems are normal. No teenager or parent is immune to this. Stay active in your child's life and make a point of talking to them, guide then, set limits and make sure that your teenager is fully aware of what you expect from them. Set firm rules and consequences and most importantly be consistent.