Does your child turn to you for advice and support?

Many parents report increased difficulty talking with their child during adolescence, and likewise many teens report difficulty talking with their parents. Nevertheless, there are some easy and fun ways to improve communication. For example, get to know them better by making it a point to speak to them each day-asking them what they are thinking, not just what they did. Perhaps have a family dinner with an identified topic and rotate whose turn it is to pick the topic. It is recommended that parents spend some time with each child individually each week. This keeps the relationship strong and thus, makes parent-child communication easier.

In our Nurturing classes, we discuss the following communication skills:
1. I statements
2. You Messages
3. Ownership of Feelings
4. Active listening

The key to healthy communication is to communicate your thoughts and feelings to your teen in a manner that does not purposefully hurt them, or encourage them to think less of themselves. Remember criticism hurts and doesn’t have a place in nurturing or raising our teens.

Finally, it is helpful to be available whenever and wherever your child wants to talk, and then to really listen without judgment. All parent-child relationships are unique so be prepared to try new things and test out other ideas. Enjoy getting to know your teen’s interests, goals and dreams.

Call us at 443-735-kids for more information.
Happy chatting!