Teenage Relationship Advice

Too often, teenage relationship advice focuses on how to tell if you are really in love with someone, while giving a checklist of the things you should be experiencing to see if you really are. Not a lot shed light on what to do once you've made that first step toward being committed to someone. It's where things need to be threshed out if a long-term union is desired, and it merits some guidelines so you can have a caring, happy, and strong relationship. Here are some five tips to help you and yourpartner achieve precisely this.

1. Make friendshipthe foundation of your relationship.

As cliché as it may seem, teen relationships based on friendship tend to last longer than ones that aren't. This kindof reasoning is based on the simple expedient that friends are more comfortable with each others' quirks, habits, andways of thinking, and those who graduate to a love relationship from a friendship are less likely to be turnedoff by previously unnoticed behavior. It also means that, as friends, you share similar interests and have bonded over things that mean something to you. One of the best teenage relationship advice, as some songs put it, is to fall in love with yourbest friend. While not everyone may be lucky enough to experience this, making friends with a potential love interest can be a good enough start to laying a solid foundation for a lasting bond.

2. Have fair expectations from each other.

The teen years can be quite tumultuous, given the circumstances affected by hormones, school, family, peers, and other adolescent trimmings. When you enter into a committed relationship with someone, it's best to keep the demands at a minimum, and focus on how to enrich each others' lives as you go through the challenges of being a teen together. Support each others' endeavors, help each other with school work andactivities, be there for one another when you need encouragement, go out on fun dates, be each others' inspiration, but do not make demands that are hard to meet or are unfair. This is one of the most important teenagerelationshipadvice you can get: commitment means harnessing the closeness you have with someone to enrich and improve your lives, not to put boundaries and unreasonable expectations on each other for yourown sake.

3. Steer clear of irrational jealousy.

Jealousy is, unfortunately, a likely occurrence ineven the healthiest relationship. However, it does not follow that you should make it a mainstay. In case you get jealous over something, pause and consider exactly what may be the cause of jealousy. If you cannot pinpoint it, chances are that it is of an irrational nature, andtherefore unhealthyfor you andyourrelationship. This is often caused by paranoia and insecurity, and must be treated professionally because it is often destructive andrecurring. It is fine to feel jealous once ina while, so long as you do not allow it to take over you andmake you lash out at yourpartner. A great teenage relationship advices is to learn from past jealous responses and learn to control them if they have no real basis.

4. Talkless, listen more.

One of the biggest reasons for arguments is the lack of proper communication. Your partner may be trying to tell you something about what they are going through, but you'retoo busytalking about yourday instead. This kindof behavior often paves the way for someone to feel neglected, unappreciated, and not cared for. A great teenage advice you can heed to strengthenyourrelationship is to listen more, and talk less. This doesn't mean you should curb yourtongue all the time andbe reticent; it simply allows for more open and effective dialogue instead of a selfish monologue. Doing this makes yourpartner feel that you are there for them, andthat they can open upto you anytime.

5. Introduce each other to your respective family and friends.

Being aroundyourpartner'sfamily or friends is a great way to forge lasting bonds with them. Ascliché as it may sound, being the girl or boy that yourpartner bringshome to their mom means they are confident enough to let you in on theirfamily life andbe partof them. The simple act of introducing yourpartner to yourfamily andclosest friends is a veryaffirming moment. It means they are proud of you and want you to participate intheirlives on a more personal level. So as a helpful teenage relationship advice: introduce yourboyfriend or girlfriend to your mom, dad, siblings, andclose friends andmake them feel that you take them seriously.