Managing the Behavior of Teens: Building Connection While Setting Limits 

Parenting teens can be challenging in any family, and foster parents often carry the added complexity of helping youth who may have experienced trauma, instability, loss, or disrupted attachment. This training will focus on practical, relationship-centered strategies for responding to teen behavior in ways that preserve connection while still providing structure, accountability, and clear expectations.

Participants will learn how to use validation to lower defensiveness and maintain the relationship, set boundaries that are firm but not shaming, and distinguish between natural and logical consequences. We will also explore how to scaffold independence so teens can gradually build the skills they need for adulthood, including decision-making, emotional regulation, responsibility, and repair after conflict.

The goal of this training is to help foster parents move beyond simply “managing behavior” and toward understanding what behavior communicates, responding effectively in the moment, and creating a home environment where teens can feel safe, respected, and increasingly capable.

This course is taught by Ashlyn Ellington.  Ashlyn is a therapist providing individual treatment, family therapy, and parent coaching.