Anybody here have PARENTING skills? I need advice.

[tomlays]

You can always give her the 'all men are pigs' speech before she learns it firsthand

Don't ever do that. You don't the right to speak about her boyfriend that way. Even when you don't agree with her; you have to respect her feelings. Just be an active listener; just like a mirror, you repeat what she tells you to show her and make her understand her own feelings. She doesn't need to hear anything bad right now; she needs you to listen to her. At 16 years old, the child is already raised; I mean, her intelectual capacity are developped at their bests. She will learn from experience every day. Stay normal. There is no pressure. Don't feel bad for her.

 

[Crazier]

Holy shit, you're an unmarried male with no kids and they trusted you with a 16 year old girl exchange student?? No offense I'm sure you're great but that seems kind of unheard of

I was thinking the same thing... but it seems the coordinator of the exchange knows him personally, and trusts him well enough.
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[Mdguy]

Don't ever do that. You don't the right to speak about her boyfriend that way. Even when you don't agree with her; you have to respect her feelings. Just be an active listener; just like a mirror, you repeat what she tells you to show her and make her understand her own feelings. She doesn't need to hear anything bad right now; she needs you to listen to her. At 16 years old, the child is already raised; I mean, her intelectual capacity are developped at their bests. She will learn from experience every day. Stay normal. There is no pressure. Don't feel bad for her.

Sorry, I was being sarcastic with that remark..hence the smiley face.
I agree with you...you shouldn't force your opinon on her, but you should try to share your feelings with her. She is old enough to make the ultimate decision for herself even if it might turn out to be a wrong choice in the end

 

[Honeynut]

if the school has any sort of field trips that require sleeping away from home for a few days, I'd strongly enourage it. She'd be away from the phone and the computer, doing something likely educational and fun, experiencing the outdoors and/or american life and culture. With american kids her own age, whom are accessible to her. She might make a couple of real friends and be tempted to hang out with them once the trip was over.

 

[SofaGeorge]

Holy shit, you're an unmarried male with no kids and they trusted you with a 16 year old girl exchange student?? No offense I'm sure you're great but that seems kind of unheard of

Nope. I thought so too... but get this... the organization even accepts same sex couples... so she could have ended up with two gay dads or whatever. (I think it's actually okay... just surprised they do.)

They do screen potential host parents VERY carefully and even come by and inspect your house.

I do think I was parent of last resort... but it was me or send her back... and I knew the coordinator for the program very well.

Fortunately too, my host daughter and I have really good communication. We talk about everything involved with her school stuff, etc... and she is a very honest, open kid.

We are just figuring out how to come to terms on this issue. It's really the only conflict we have.

 

[HumorMe]

SofaGeorge

Why not arranged a small party or a get together with some of her "friends" and the hunk from the store too. This way, it wouldn't be like you are forcing her and the hunk(lol..sorry just kidding) to go out together and get to know one another. Maybe take them all for pizza or to a movie and ice cream afterwards. hell, for that matter if you can afford it, do all three. Find a way to expose her to the things US teenagers do for fun. Those are just suggestions but you can choose whatever type of get together you want. Just trying to figure this one out! I wish you luck though!

 

[SofaGeorge]

SofaGeorge

Why not arranged a small party or a get together with some of her "friends" and the hunk from the store too. This way, it wouldn't be like you are forcing her and the hunk(lol..sorry just kidding) to go out together and get to know one another. Maybe take them all for pizza or to a movie and ice cream afterwards. hell, for that matter if you can afford it, do all three. Find a way to expose her to the things US teenagers do for fun. Those are just suggestions but you can choose whatever type of get together you want. Just trying to figure this one out! I wish you luck though!

Very timely suggestion. Thursday is her birthday. Pizza party and Laser tag coming.

 

[HumorMe]

Very timely suggestion. Thursday is her birthday. Pizza party and Laser tag coming.

Glad I could help, Sofageorge! Damn, laser tag is fun! I have two younger daughters and we love doing that. My old ass can't move as fast as I once could but I still love it! Don't get me wrong, I can still move pretty good, it's just the landings diving behind stuff that gets rough!

 

[Zirakzigil]

Yeah, the party idea sounds like a very good idea.

 

[p0ink]

take her to the gym with you or sign her up for some martial arts classes.