Teenage rebellion is not a new phenomenon. Looking at historical writings confirms that every generation has conflict. However, this doesn't mean that the teenage years have to be the nightmare that everyone talks about. Parents can get great satisfaction from watching their child grow into a young adult and sharing a more equal relationship. Unfortunately, there are usually a few speed bumps along the way.
             One of the things many parents find hardest about the teenage years is that most teenagers go through a time of wanting to reject everything their parents stand for. Although it may not seem like it at the time, this sort of behaviour is normal and healthy. The key task for young people in their teenage years is to find out who they are and what they stand for. It is almost impossible for a teenager to do this successfully if they just uncritically accept all of their parent's values and ways of thinking. However, because teenagers are teenagers they don't take the middle ground and establish values somewhere between conventional and radical. No, typically teenagers reject everything their parents stand for and try out new and sometimes bizarre ways of behaving.
             For teenagers doing something their parents wouldn't do is often the whole point. They want to establish a separate identity for themselves. Doing radical things with their appearance is one obvious way to make a statement and achieve this. Although this horrifies many parents, if the appearance changes don't pose any threat to health then it is better for the teenager to have the opportunity to try things out for themselves. Parents who actively forbid appearance changes are asking for a battle. The teenager will just want to do it more and will probably do it anyway.
             The thing to realise as a parent is that it is not a personal affront to your value system. The funny thing is that most teenagers, even the most rebellious ones, eventually end up with very similar b...