Love Letters from Parents to Teens

By Marlene Riddle

Statistics show 51 percent of teens are afraid of talking to their parents about personal, private problems. Its even slightly higher when it comes to talking to their teachers. What are parents to do? One solution is for parents to write to their teens about these problems. In Love Letters from Parents to Teens, author Marlene Riddle offers examples of letters written by parents to their teens to help guide them through difficult situations, lifes challenges, and times of discouragement and confusion.

Riddlean educator for more than forty yearsbelieves if parents take the first step in writing to their teens, the adolescent may like the idea and begin writing back. With time, these letters may no longer be necessary, and the parent and teen may be talking to each other face to face, having conversations in an atmosphere of trust and harmony. The sample letters address everything from trust, to relationships, choosing friends, dealing with bullies, being popular, jealousy, labeling, enjoying adolescence, having a vision and purpose, and more.

Adolescence doesnt have to be the most difficult time of a persons life. A parent can transform these short years into fun, exciting experiences. A parents responsibility is to build teens up, not tear them down, creating a strong, meaningful relationship. And it can all begin with a letter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Feb 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781480815292

Marlene Riddle

Marlene Riddle earned a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a doctoral degree from Texas Woman’s University, where she taught for a few years. Riddle has been an educator for more than forty years. She is also the author of Love Letters from Teens to Parents.

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MARLENE RIDDLE

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Copyright © 2015 Marlene Riddle.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-1528-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-1529-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015901860

Archway Publishing rev. date: 2/18/2015

Contents

Introduction

Trust Me!

Walking With You Side By Side

Life Is All About Relationships

Choosing Your Friends

How to Deal With Bullies

Jealousy

Labels

The Popular Group

Bullies and Low Self-Esteem

Don’t Suffer in Silence

Make Your Own Decisions — Sometimes

A Smooth School Life

Leave the Consequences to Me

Enjoy Your Adolescence!

We All Just Want to Be Loved

Home: the Best Place in the World!

Rod of Discipline or a Gentle Spirit

Encouragement

Vision and Purpose

No More Loneliness

Choose Your Dates Wisely

Liked and Appreciated

Vision Impaired and in Charge

Prepared for the Unexpected

Peer Pressure

Dropping Out: Statistics

Trust Can Be Regained

Consideration — Always!

I Was Born to Succeed

T.W.A.: Thought, Word, Action

Empathize: it Will Make You Proud of Yourself

Mother’s Day

Your Friends Are Important to Us

What I Like the Most About You

Take a Chance: Be Nice

Your First Job

You Are Important and Valuable

Stick to the Truth

Demonstration of Affection

Parties: Which Ones to Attend

Matters That Need Your Attention Now

The Way You Dress

Conversation Versus Physical Confrontation

Temptation

We All Make Mistakes

Are My Parents Being Reasonable?

Consider Double-Dating

Career Choices

Finding Fault

Laugh at Your Own Mistakes

With love I

dedicate this book to my grandchildren Drew and Alexis (front cover), Calan, Karissa, and Faith, who have showered me with infinite joy since the day they were born!

Introduction

There is a formidable chasm in the world of adolescents today which needs to be filled with the highest level of principles and directions. Parents need to be assembled in their goals, holding each other’s hands, and establishing the most effective ways to meet their needs. Their entire future will depend on the spiritual food they are being fed by their parents and educators, during these very short years they will be under your wings – nineteen years, as compared to the fifty-plus years they will likely be on their own. Give them the