You’re in the process of hiring a contractor through Key Interiors, when you get a call from your teenager who is sobbing on the other line. Parenting comes with many challenges, and one of the biggest ones is navigating the relationship once your children enter their teenage years.
Here are 5 strategies to build a healthy relationship with your teenager.
Give Them Their Space
While we all want to know what’s going on in our teen’s life, it’s important that you allow them their space. You certainly don’t want to be a helicopter parent, and this becomes even more important as they enter into their teenage years. By allowing your teen to have space, you’re teaching them independence and letting them know that you trust them. This is incredibly important as they get older – you want them to adopt their own identity and feel that they can be trusted to be themselves.
Open Communication
Communicating with your teen can certainly come with its challenges. You can’t expect each conversation to run smoothly, as they’re experiencing a rush of different hormones and experiences as they advance into adulthood. Instead of trying to always agree with your teen, practice open communication. You want your teen to feel comfortable and safe with opening up to you, and you want to always offer your honest and compassionate feedback to them.
Take Interest in Their Lives
Your teen will notice if you’re not around, and this could make them feel as if you don’t have much care for what they’re interested in. Even if they participate in hobbies that aren’t something you’d enjoy, it’s important that you find the importance in it because it’s something that they care about. If you take interest in their lives, you’re giving them a clear message that they’re loved and they’re important to you.
Encourage Them to Express Their Feelings
The teenage years are one of the most challenging. Teens are experiencing a rush of feelings that they’ve never experienced until this point in their lives. It’s important that your teen doesn’t learn to suppress their feelings or try to run away from them. This could lead to some serious issues later in life – including depression and anxiety. You want to encourage your teenager to express their feelings and let them know feelings are a natural part of life. It’s also a good idea to remind them that negative feelings won’t last forever – instead of trying to wish them away, teach them how to sit and acknowledge them. By doing so, this will help them to be better equipped to handle feelings later in life.
Value Their Perspective
You want to encourage your teen to express their feelings, but you also want them to feel comfortable expressing their perspective with you. It’s important that your teen feels comfortable enough to share their perspective with you, as this will deepen the bound and connection between the two of you. You want your child to feel valued and understood, and this is why you should always seek to understand and appreciate them.
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