Love Letters from Parents to Teens
by
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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 best you can. Be available at all times, as they are treading perilous grounds, full of traps and temptations.
Many parents assume that they can finally relax, as their children approach adolescence. They cannot be farther from the truth! This is a crucial mistake. This is when your teen will need you the most. In their tender years, they were enjoying a safe nest, protected by the wings of caring parents. Now they are getting strength, looking around, assessing the terrain, uncertain whether their wings will sustain them in their first flight attempts. Brand new situations will present themselves, intriguing, frightening… Your offspring will look around for you, trying to remember all the lessons you taught them during their young years. There are many voices uttered by their peers… They are powerful, coming from everywhere… Which ones should they heed? Which ones will lead them to a happy, fulfilled future?...
Dear parents, statistics show that 51% of teens are afraid of talking to their parents about personal, private problems. It is even slightly higher (54%) when it comes to talking to their teachers. (Stageoflife, Teen Trend Report: “Teens and Fear,” 2013)
What are parents to do? One solution would be to encourage them to write you about these problems. If you take the first step, writing to them, they may like the idea, finding it less threatening, and will start writing back to you. With time, these letters will no longer be necessary, and you and your teens will be talking to each other person to person, having great conversations, all in an atmosphere of trust and harmony.
This book gives you some examples of letters written by parents to their teens. My other book, “Love Letters of Teens to Parents”, will give your adolescents ideas on how to approach you with their personal problems in written form. Welcome such letters, discussing them with kindness and understanding. Give them your full attention.
My best wishes for this new undertaking! If you like to write, and if you feel inclined to contact me, sharing your experiences and giving me suggestions on how I can improve my future writings, please send your letter to:
M.Riddle
P.O. Box
Coppell, Texas 75019
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About the Book
Statistics show 51 percent of teens are afraid of talking to their parents about personal, private problems. It’s 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, life’s challenges, and times of discouragement and confusion.
Riddle—an educator for more than forty years—believes 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 doesn’t have to be the most difficult time of a person’s life. A parent can transform these short years into fun, exciting experiences. A parent’s responsibility is to build teens up, not tear them down, creating a strong, meaningful relationship. And it can all begin with a letter.
About the Author
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.