2026-07-10

Notice and Encourage Signs of Responsibility in Your Teen

Responsibility is about more than doing chores or turning in schoolwork on time. It also involves thinking ahead about how your words or actions will affect others or yourself, and then speaking or acting in a manner that is respectful of yourself and others.

Talk to your teen about responsibility. Say that you expect your teen to:

• Keep promises. Explain that people must know that your teen's word is a commitment. Your teen can be counted on.
• Admit mistakes. Being responsible is not the same as being perfect. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Responsible people make mistakes all the time. But they don’t just shrug them off. They admit their mistakes, apologize and make amends if necessary.
• Accept consequences. Sometimes mistakes have bad results. Responsible people deal with the results of their mistakes without trying to blame others. They learn from mistakes and rarely make the mistake a second time.

Be sure to recognize the effort when you see your teen taking these responsible actions!

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