I have never been one to jump on the idea of a parenting contract. If you aren’t sure what this is, it is a written agreement between you and your teen regarding specific issues.
My interest was only recently peeked after receiving a blog that I subscribe to. The author of the blog had come up with this fantastic parenting contract for her teen that had just started driving. Since I have a teen that has his learner’s permit and is scheduled to take his driving test at the end of January, I suddenly became very interested.
I printed off the parenting contract and tucked it away inside a folder, forgetting about it until some recent research I was doing. That research led me to a website page with a variety of parenting contracts.
There are contracts covering dating, driving, laptops, cell phones, staying home alone, being home after school, going out with friends, spending money and chores. I felt like I hit the jackpot.
I just don’t have the creativity to think of all the things that some of these contracts contain. While at one time I may not have thought much about parenting contracts, they are becoming more attractive to me.
Why?
Well I think they are a great way to communicate with your teen. A parenting contract isn’t supposed to be just what you want as a parent. You and your teen should work on it together, compromising and discussing each expectation.
It is also a way to make sure that your rules are clearly stated. Your teen can’t say they didn’t know. Once they agree to the contract and sign it, they are expected to abide by it. You might even tack onto your contract some of the consequences for breaking any of the rules of the contract.
How about you? What do you think of parenting contracts? If you use them, do they work?
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