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How to Encourage Your Teen's Social Life
 This information brought to you by “My out of control Teen”http://pinkrib5.drake333.clickbank.net 
Your teenager's high school years should not be all about studying and making good grades.Granted, this is important if your student is interested in college and you know he will need somesort of scholarship in order for you to afford it. There is nothing wrong when you as parent’sneed to ask for help to send your children to do what they really want in life.Extracurricular activities in high school are also very important for your teen. From the time heis 13 or so, your son or daughter is learning how to get along and socialize with other kids his/her age. He/she may learn these skills earlier and if he/she does, more power to him. My point isthis: if your freshman teen is not very social, now is the time for him to learn. As parents there isonly so much of this that you can help with. You just need to encourage him/her to try and makefriends.There is nothing worse than being a great student and having no friends at all, no one to talk to or laugh with. Loneliness is a terrible thing to experience during your high school years; everyonehas at least one friend. Maybe they only hang out at school but eventually it will end up all thetime.There are many things you can do to encourage appropriate social behavior in your teenager.Here are some ways you can get your teen involved socially with his school and the communityat large:*** Have him do volunteer work 
 
Our local high school requires that students perform at least 10 hours of volunteer communityservice work each year. They need 40 total hours of volunteer work to graduate. Most studentsdon't care to do volunteer work unless it is very interesting. When there was work, it was boring.If he/she finds something interesting enough, he/she may even want to extend his/her volunteer hours! This is the best result you can hope for. Then later on in life maybe they will show therechildren the benefits of helping others.Volunteer work gets your teen out into the community and helps him/her practice dealing withother adults besides his parents, teachers and coaches. With volunteer work, he/she will learnhow to deal with his boss and how to get along with and work beside his co-workers(if there areany). He/she won't be paid, but at least he will get a taste of what it is like to work for other  people or organizations.*** Encourage him to go out for at least one sportMake sure that he/she chooses the sport and knows what is required to succeed. He/she doesn'thave to be great at it but he/she does have to like the sport, even if he/she only watches it on TV.Sometimes it doesn’t work but at least they have tried hard at it even if they never want to do itagain.Also, your teen can play as many sports during the year as he/she wishes, just so the time spentin practices and at games does not interfere with or detract from his school work. Emphasize toyour sports-minded teen that studies come first and that he can play sports only if he keepshis/her grades up. Be sure you can go to at least some of his/her games, even the "away" games.Your teen will never tell you this, but it is important to him/her that he sees you at his games. It'sespecially important if he/she does well. He/she wants you to see him/her make a big play or help his/her team win.
 
One thing: don't get over involved. Never yell at the referees or at your son or daughter. Just bethere to watch the game. You can certainly cheer if your teen makes a good play or his/her teamwins, but keep it positive at all times. Don't try to live through your teen or put pressure onhim/her to do well.*** Have your teen join any school clubs he likesMost schools have a chess club, Spanish club, French club, service club, math club, music club, band, etc. Be sure you and your teen explore any clubs or organizations the school has availableand see what they actually do and when they meet. Usually, teachers or counselors sponsor theseclubs and provide oversight. Sometimes they get to go on field trips or even journey to other countries that speak the language they are studying. This is an easy and painless way for your teen to socialize with others and do things he enjoys.*** If you observe that your teen seems to enjoy the company of another student, encourage himto invite his friend over to your home. Or if they have a common interest (like golf), you canhelp them meet at the golf course. Be sure to meet the other kid's parents and be certain that your teen is also invited over to his new friend's house. It's a two way street; both sets of parents haveto be willing to participate.Also, encourage your teen to have as many friends as possible. Don't limit him to just one or two,especially if you are friends with the parents. Think of it this way, when your teen makes a newfriend, you might make two new friends when you meet the new friend's parents.Conclusions:As you can see, there are many things your teen can do that will give him/her the opportunity totalk to other kids his age without them having to be in class together. Socializing in school helps prepare your high school teen for a chance at a normal social life as an adult. It doesn't matter 
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