Verity Williams
Verity Williams lived in Colombia and Malawi before moving to Beijing last summer and currently attends Harrow International School Beijing.
Cultivating Responsible Teens
Setting Rules and Living By Them
It's Friday night, and your teen is yet again asking if they can be allowed out to enjoy the vibrant Beijing nightlife. After a predictable argument, both you and your teen are feeling tense and frustrated. Perhaps you refused, quoting the dangers of going out, resulting in your adolescent sulking in their room? Or did you let them go out after they promised to return home before midnight, maybe even the early hours of the morning?
Perturbed, your thoughts fill with horror stories of drunken teens waking up in hospitals and unaware of the previous night's events. As you wait up for the return of your child, you replay visions of them walking into a smoke-filled club containing hundreds of strangers.
As a parent, you need to be aware of such issues, of course. Consider, however, that going out one or two nights a week could actually be to the benefit of your teenager.
