It recently occurred to me that parenting is a lot like investing in the stock market. Why? Well, for several reasons:

• Both the markets and teenagers are contrary. It seems that just about every time you make a “sure” investment, it loses money. For some uncanny reason, it is just perverse, at least for the vast majority of people.

Teenagers are a lot like that, at times. It seems that no matter how good your plan is, most of the time it gets thwarted. Of course, there are moments when all is smooth and wonderful, but they are certainly the exception, not the rule!

• You are in it for the long haul. Your investment dips up and down in the short run, and you hope that it will grow over time. Isn’t that how it is with teenagers? We love them unconditionally, and it’s a good thing sometimes!
• You need to keep your eye on your investments, but be slow to act. If you are nervously changing your investments, you will almost certainly lose money. With children you need to keep an eye on them, but save your corrections for the opportune time. Constant nagging will never help!

Someone who knows a great deal about teenagers has written a very useful ebook called “My Out Of Control Teen.” It is full of useful strategies and outlooks to handle even the most out of control teen. It is certainly worth checking out.