Are you looking for skills in communicating with your teens? Or maybe you’re trying to communicate with your teen but things aren’t going the way you hope? Well, today I want to share with you one simple way you can do so.
I’ve always said that it was easier communicating with my now sixteen-year-old when he was younger than now that he’s in his teenage years. While it was easy for me to chat with him, it’s now a bit more difficult and it’s not because he’s changed because he’s still basically the same Mikael, but more so because he’s in his own world, with his own friends, etc.
I recently watched an animation by the Center for Parent and Teen Communication (CPTC) and it finally clicked! I wasn’t really listening to him but more so projecting my ideas, which in turn didn’t make him comfortable enough to want to share. Instead of having open-ended chats, it would be more me interrupting and saying what I thought he needed to hear.
So what’s one thing that you need to learn when it comes to communication with teens?
Be prepared to listen!
The CTPC provides science-based strategies to support healthy family relationships. Sign up for their 100-word, daily parenting tip newsletter and watch the animations and let me know your favorite via social media with hashtags #parentandteen and #1minuteparentingtip.
