There are man parents that have to deal with their 17-year-old son going off the rails. This can be a common issue because at that age, many teens have still not matured enough to make the right decisions.
They are most likely seniors in high school and are getting ready to graduate so they feel like they can do anything they want without consequences.
If you are dealing with a 17 year old son that is going off the rails, there are a few septs to take to get them back on track to become great children again.
When did you start noticing your 17-year-old son Going off the Rails?
The first thing that needs to be looked at would be when did you start noticing that your son going off the rails. This is important to note because finding out the source that made him start acting up like that can lead to your answer.
There can be many different influences that have caused this so making sure you figure out which one is the right one is important.
1. Friends
The first and most common reason why you might have a 17-year-old son going off the rails would be because of the influence he receives from his friends. As many of us know, the people we are always around have an influence over us in our everyday life and we tend to pick up tendencies from them.
If his friend group are a bunch of immature teens that also go of the rails, he most likely saw an opportunity to act up a well. Teens nowadays want to fit in with their friend group so they tend to get sucked into whatever is “cool” which in this case would be to act rebellious and do what they want to do.
If that is the case, it is time to have a conversation with him about the people he hangs around with. Explain to him that the way he is influenced by his friends to act this way will cause him problems down the line. If he is already acting up at 17 years old, the problems will only become worse as he gets older and hangs out with them more.
You need to also explain to him that he is on the verge of becoming an adult and the circle of friends he is involved with will only bring him down. If they are not motivated or ambitious about achieving great things in life for the better, it is better to leave them behind and find people that are there to motivate and be a positive influence.
2. Media
The second influence that might be playing a role in this would be the things he hears and watches.
Believe it or not, the media plays a huge role in how people act, and sadly, today’s movies and music promote many bad behaviors. If your son is consuming the bad side of the media industry, they could have been influenced to act up and go off the rails.
The reason this happens is because when they see or hear these things, they put themselves in the shoes of the people they watch/hear and want to start acting up not knowing that this is all pure entertainment. If you are noticing him consuming the bad side that is making him act like this, it may be time to limit that aspect and make him consume more positive content.
This might be a challenge at first because once someone is sucked into the side of a media they enjoy, it can be very hard to pull them out of it.
With your son being 17 years old and a year away from transitioning into an adult, he will definitely not like the idea of this and might be even more rebellious than he was before because you are restricting what he likes to watch and hear.
If that is the case, you will have to impose strict rules and if they are broken, you as a parent can set up the consequences to your liking to make sure that he knows you are not playing around when it comes to fixing his behavior.
3. Age
Another factor that might be causing your 17 year old togo off the rails would be his age.
At 17 years old, you are on the verge of graduating high school and becoming an adult. Once seniors in high school feel that way, they tend to start acting the way they want to because they feel like they are finally about to be free from the school system they’ve been put through since a young age.
Rules and guidelines have been imposed on them for a very long time and when they see the finish line approaching, they start to act like they have the freedom to do whatever they want not knowing that they are still under the legal limit of becoming an adult.
If you think that the reason he is acting up is due to this fact, it is time to give them a reality check and set them back into their place.
Let them know that they are still under your guidance and if they are still living under your roof, they have rules that they still have to follow no matter how old they are. You can also let them know that by the age of 18, you are allowed to kick them out of the house so if they want to act up and make their own decisions, they can handle their own life once they turn 18 and are out of the house.
Important Note
A big reason why many kids tend to go off the rails would be because many parents start to become softer on their children and this allows them to start having leeway with the decisions that they make.
If you are in a situation where your son is starting to act up even if you know about it, you will need to become more firm with your parenting. If that means you impose harsh punishments again like taking their phone away or not letting them have the freedom they used to have, then so be it because at the end of the day, it is our job as parents to raise our children to be the best they can be.
They might hate the fact that you are doing this but they will thank you in the long run for setting them back on the right path. They need to understand the short term gratification they feel by going off the rails isn’t worth the long term problems they would face if they don’t straighten their ways.
Final Thought
Many 17-year-olds have gotten to the point where they think they can do whatever they please just because they are graduating high school in a year. Your 17-year-old son acting like this can stem from different factors or the combination of all.
You first need to find out what is causing him to act like this so you can cut that part out of his life. No parent wants to see their older son act like this so it is our job to put them back on the right track so they can have a successful and fulfilling future.
Click here for more information on how to curb a teens misbehavior.