Most parents are devastated when they learn that their teen has been drinking booze, experimenting with sex, or participating in some other destructive behavior. But how you react in that moment has the power to define your relationship in years to come.

Hi, I’m Mark Gregston … with Parenting Today’s Teens.

Any time a child’s misbehavior is exposed, their greatest fear is that they will no longer be loved. So if you catch your teen red- handed … don’t withdraw your affection.

Instead, slip a note under her door. Stick a letter in her notebook. Or send her a text message that says, “We love you just as much today as the day you arrived in our family.”

Because what she needs right now more than anything else are words and actions that affirm your relationship. She needs your unconditional love!