Parenting teenagers is a difficult topic. No one can tell you how to be a parent; especially of a teenager.
[ Read the full article about parenting teenagers.]
Like teens, parents are not amenable to listening to other people – at least not usually.
If someone tells you that you need to be a stricter parent or to spend more or less time with your teenager when you do not believe this is the way to parent – would you listen to them?
That said – teens need rules. Teens do not need more and more freedom even though that is what they tell you they need and want.
As a parent you need to set limits for all your kids – they bump against the limits and fight them but that is a good thing. It's how they learn what are the rules for our culture. If you keep moving the limits as kids bang against them – they never understand limits. Kids are very good at the "gimme gimme gimme" game and it is perfectly fine to say "no no no" to them.
I never said it was easy having a teen in the house – in fact it can be downright nasty.