Finally, the kids have gotten beyond grade school, beyond the age of clingy dependence and stubbed toes, and are finally becoming their own autonomous beings. But Catherine VanWetter warns parents that reaching the teen years isn’t the end of an era. It’s actually the beginning of a very big challenge.

“Parenting doesn’t get easier” when children grow into teenagers, she said. “It just changes. Teens need us even more.”

VanWetter, a longtime teacher with a master’s in sociology, is teaching parents of teens how to cope in a new six-week class called “Understanding the Teen In Your Life: From Disconnect to Reconnect.” The cost is $180 a person or $275 for two people. For the past six months, she’s been helping other parents of teens find ways to focus on listening, empathy and conflict resolution, with an eye toward the physiology behind some teen behavior.

While puberty is hitting children earlier and earlier for environmental and food-based reasons, the development of teens’ brains is still in flux until their mid-20s. This affects mood, personality and decision making, among other things, and insight into that development can often explain at least some of the mystery that is the teenage years, VanWetter said.

Additionally, the way children and parents interact has been changing, and technology has been altering the way teens view the world.

“We’ve created a culture where baby boomer (parents) set no limits. Kids get confused, (wondering) ‘Who is the adult?’”

The world of video games and the Internet also is isolating children and, VanWetter believes, altering their brain development and ability to communicate. Along with the violence and hypersexuality found in those games and in some of the things teens are accessing on-line, technology can become a disruptive force as well.

Through her classes, which take place one day a week for six weeks, VanWetter hopes to create a community for parents who can share their frustrations and learn how to build their relationships with their children without swapping war stories or dwelling on the negative.

“We talk about the teen brain, and communication, and what it’s like to be a parent of a teenager in this day and age,” VanWetter said. “We discuss conflict resolution and finding ways to be able to connect with our kids.”

VanWetter is mother of two sons, an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old. “I’ve been through the fire,” she said with a laugh. Much of what she teaches is based on the book “Why Do They Act That Way: A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen,” by David Walsh.

For information, call 753-1820 or see www.totheheartofthematter.com.

IF YOU GO

“Understanding the Teen in Your Life,” is a six-week parenting course offered by Catherine VanWetter. It begins Sept. 10 and continues each Wednesday through Oct. 15. Classes are 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 2945 N.W. Circle Blvd. Another class begins Oct. 29. Cost is $180 per person, or $275 for two.