5 Ways To Connect With Your Teenager

Do you ever feel that your teenager is from another planet, that he speaks a language you don’t understand, that he is interested in things you don’t know? Peaceful. This is a common phenomenon. Your teenager is not weird, he is simply a teenager. Their adolescence doesn’t have to be like yours. Their interests don’t have to be yours.

Adolescence is not the same for everyone, but there are things common to all, such as the concern to make decisions for themselves or the need to answer the question “who am I”. Either way, the key for parents to connect with their teens is, basically, to focus on the relationship with them. At this time, punishments are of little or no use.

Here are some effective ways for parents to stay connected with their teens.

Ask questions and listen

The first step in understanding a teenager is asking questions, but not just any kind of question. Questions should be asked strategically so that they are open and answered.

Being too direct or too to the point will only help the adolescent to close down. It is necessary to involve him in the conversation, make him feel involved and, above all, that he sees that we are interested in what he thinks (more than what he does).

Also, you must be available to speak at any time.  For most teens, that means talking late at night, often on topics that seem trivial to you, or at the most inopportune hours you can imagine. But it’s okay. If your adolescent son claims you, speak up, rather, listen to him and wind him up to keep talking.

If you are a good listener, your child will tell you many things, vent to you, and ask for your advice. If you don’t, you will have to look for that outside. So don’t miss a single opportunity, even if it’s the worst moment in the world. And make sure your child knows that they can count on you always and at any time.

Inquire about their interests

One of the great communication problems with adolescents is understanding what they are talking about, even interpreting their language. If you don’t understand what they are saying or are interested in things that sound like Chinese to you, your duty is to find out.

The unknown scares us. It is common. Saving the wall of ignorance will not only make us lose our fear of what our children do, but it will allow us to establish conversations with them and, more importantly, they will see that we care about their tastes and strive to understand them.

just relax

The fact that you are interested in what your child does and try to be in his wave does not justify that you are on him all day, even with an open and tolerant posture. Relax and let your child live his adolescence. Watch, but from a distance. 

Things are tough for teens today. They have many doors to knock on and many opportunities to get lost. But you can’t deny him everything or protect him from everything, at least if you’ve done a good job educating him beforehand. Now is the time to reap the fruits of childhood education.

Look for opportunities to be together

Eating and / or dining together is a habit that should be established in adolescence. If it is not possible to eat both meals with your children, at least make an effort to eat one. It is a fantastic occasion to discuss everyday topics, learn about your children and make yourself known, not to mention how important it is to monitor eating habits at this age.

Also, you should plan weekend activities regularly, such as excursions, trips, or sports activities. But make sure your kids want to do that, because if you program something they don’t like you will get the opposite of what you want. A good way to get it right is to schedule activities with them.

Tips to a minimum

There is nothing better than advising a teenager to do just the opposite. Also, with each unsolicited advice you are sending the message to your child that he is not capable of solving problems on his own.

Instead of giving your adolescent advice, look for opportunities to talk and vent, tell him stories about you with similar problems, or leave books or movies within his reach that might give him some insight. Anything for your child to come up with a solution or think about it. If instead recipes you give him opportunities to think he will come back for more.