Wondering if your teenager is in an unhealthy relationship? Teens are often blind in love and unable to differentiate between care and harm. Read on to know the warning signs of a toxic relationship.
I remember being a teenager and thinking I was in love, don’t you? It seems so beautiful, innocent and harmless. However, sometimes those teenage relationships can be extremely toxic and unhealthy.
Such unhealthy relationships can impact your self-worth and how you view yourself. During your teenage years, you are developing your personality traits and habits that you will carry into your young adulthood.
Once these traits are established, it is tough to break them from your personality. Hence unhealthy relationships can cause bad choices concerning your partner in the future, and your idea of what is and are not acceptable in love.
Statistics show that, across the U.S. approximately 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner in one single year.
It is because of these reasons that paying attention to our teenager’s relationships is something that parents should be trying to do. We may consider it puppy love and don’t believe that it will last, but it can have lasting effects on how our teenagers receive and give love in their future relationships.
It can also impact how they see themselves which can affect other areas of their life as well.
So how do you know if your teen’s relationship is unhealthy?
Signs Your Teen is in An Unhealthy Relationship
Here are the warning signs of a toxic relationship:
1. The partner Seems Unnaturally Overbearing or Possessive
One of the most natural signs that your teenager is in an unhealthy relationship is that their partner is too possessive about your child. Generally, when teenagers are young, and in love for the first time, they will want to spend a lot of time together. This is so that it is not what I mean.
It may annoy you. However, the only time it should be concerning is if you see that their partner doesn’t want them doing anything other than being with them. This can be a sign that their partner is controlling or insecure.
Both are signs of an unhealthy relationship, and you would want to let your teenager know that it is okay not to spend every waking moment with their partner.
2. Unexplained Bruises or Injuries
If you see your child has unexplained marks on them, you should immediately ask how and where such injuries occurred. This is a dangerous sign that your teenager is in an unhealthy relationship.
A lot of times teenagers already have lies planned out, but you know your child, and if they weren’t super clumsy before this relationship, they probably aren’t now.
It is shocking to learn that among female victims of violence, 94% of those age 16-19 and 70% of those age 20-24 were victimized by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.
If you notice some unexplained bruises or injuries that seem to have only started once their relationship did, this is the time to intervene and possibly press charges or get the other teens’ parents involved.
Violence is an extremely toxic situation for both parties, and before the other teen develops this kind of habit, they may need some help before they take that behavior into adulthood. At the very least, get your teen out of that situation as soon as possible.
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3. Your Teenager’s Confidence Withers
The next toxic relationship signs to look for is in the behavior. If your child goes from being confident in themselves to calling themselves ‘ugly’ or putting themselves down regularly, you may want to talk to them. Losing one’s confidence suddenly is a clear sign that your teen is in an unhealthy relationship.
Problems in a relationship can cause a decrease in your teen’s confidence. A new relationship should have a teenager floating on air, not at rock bottom feeling bad about themselves.
4. Abnormally Distances From Friends and Family
Abusive or unhealthy relationships often involve a partner intentionally driving a wedge between people from their families and their friends. Teens in love often fall victim to this.
If months go by and you never see your teen, and you notice they are never hanging out with their friends, this may be a sign that they are in an unhealthy relationship.
5. Constant Drama
Teens in love are involved in constant drama. I was in a teenage relationship that was extremely toxic, and every time I turned around, there was drama coming from somewhere. There were always arguments and fights between other parties that weren’t even in my relationship and me.
Then one day my mom told me straight up that I was in a relationship that was more drama than it was worth. She was right.
If your teenager is always angry or crying because of some drama going on with their partner, that relationship is clearly unhealthy.
There are several types of toxic people and these are one of them you must avoid in life.
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6. You hear them Apologizing Too Often
One of the clear toxic relationship signs is hearing the teens in love apologize continuously. They apologize to their partner even when it doesn’t seem warranted. If you see your teenager talking over the phone or internet and is apologizing more frequently, it could be a sign that your teen may be a little fearful of their partner.
This kind of behavior is especially something to keep an eye on if you’ve never noticed it in any relationship.
7. Your Teen Checks in With His/Her Partner Constantly
They are young teenagers. There is no reason for them to be constantly needing to check in with their partners.
For instance, if you are at Walmart and your child keeps calling or texting their partner to let them know where they are and what they are doing, it is a definite sign.
Being in touch with their partner more than required is a sign that your child is in a relationship where he/she is being controlled and is an unhealthy relationship to be in.
8. The Partner Checks Your Child’s Phone All The Time
Did you know that one in three (36%) dating college students have given their computer, online access, email or social network passwords to their dating partner?Â
Sharing private information may lead to your teens in love to end up experiencing digital dating abuse. This is a clear sign that there is no trust in the relationship and/or insecurity which is not a good sign.
Insecurity is something that we find in a lot of teenage relationships. However, it’s not a very good practice for your teenager to have normalized. This is because it is a lack of privacy which is essential at this age.
If you see this kind of behavior, it may just be best to remind your teenager about the importance of privacy and why they should make sure that their partner is respecting their privacy. In fact, it is good to make kids aware of social media stalkers and avoid them carefully.
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Key Takeaways
- Across the U.S. approximately 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner in one single year.
- As parents, or friends and family, one must look for these signs when your teen is in a relationship.
- Problems in young relationships can have a lifetime impact on the kids and must be addressed wisely.
- Unexplained bruises or injuries on your teenager can be a dangerous sign of a toxic relationship they are into.
- One of the clear toxic relationship signs is hearing the teens in love apologize continuously.
- If your teenager is always angry or crying because of some drama going on with their partner, that relationship is clearly unhealthy.
Final Thoughts,
I hope these toxic relationship signs will help you out. There are a lot of signs that your teenager is in an unhealthy relationship that may be harmful to them. It is important to be able to recognize them and know how to handle them. This is without being invasive in your child’s life.
Moreover, having an open relationship and being able to talk to your teenager frankly is helpful. We want our children to learn and understand what they should and should not accept their relationships for future references. Tackle these warning signs of a toxic relationship at the onset.
Does your teenager show any of these signs in their current relationship? How do you think you should handle it? Comment all of your thoughts on the warning signs of a toxic relationship down below.
For more such helpful articles, check the below links:
- Dating and Relationship Tips for Teenagers
- Hookup Culture: Helpful or Hurtful?
- 5 Ways How Social Media Is Killing Your Real-Life Relationships
- How Peer Pressure Can Effect Negatively On Teenagers?
- 6 Things That Will Make Your Long Distance Relationship Work
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