Our Parent-Teen Communication Guide 101 has been specially designed to help open the lines of communication with your teen.

1. Parent-Teen Communication 101
By
Jade Robinson
Copyright © 2012 by JadeRobinson.us

2. Are you finding it impossible to talk to your teen? Or is your teen just flat out ignoring you?
Our Parent-Teen Communication Guide 101 has been specially designed to help open the lines of
communication with your teen.
This can be a really dangerous situation to get into, as your teen pushes the boundaries and gets closer
to becoming an independent adult it’s important that the lines of communication are clear. This will
ensure that your teen can come to you if they need you and also so that you can continue to positively
influence them and their choices. Just because your teenager is starting to look older doesn’t mean they
actually are – they still need you, maybe more than they ever have.
Be Fair and Respectful
One of the best ways to foster communication with your teen is to be fair and respectful. By now you’re
probably aware that your teen has an opinion and probably a strong one at that. If you ask for your
teen’s opinions on things, particularly things that affect them directly, you will gain a lot of respect from
your teen – they will appreciate that you are taking their thoughts and
opinions on board.
Your teen is too old to be simply told what to do, but too young to be given
the freedom and lack of guidance that an adult would expect. You need to
meet your teen somewhere in the middle, which will be dependent on
their age, maturity and how much you feel that you can trust them.
The simple fact with teenagers is if you don’t give them any freedom, they
will steal it. It’s much better for everyone involved if you give them some
freedom and maintain control rather than just losing it completely. A lot of your communication with
your teen will come down to negotiation, including negotiating boundaries, curfews, how often they can
go out, pocket money, help around the home etc. Respect your teen’s desire for independence, but
ensure they still spend time at home with your family.
Do not Engage in Arguments
Arguments provide little benefit for parents, but allow your teen an opportunity to manipulate or
reshape your decision. As such, we suggest that you do not engage in arguments and only negotiate or
discuss things with your teen when you are both calm, and level headed. It’s important that discussions
are not overly emotion and instead focus on being outcome orientated. You want to find solutions that
both you and your teen are happy with.
Ask for Their Opinion
When compared to our children we have simply had a great number more years to develop our
communication skills and confidence in articulating our thoughts and opinions. Our teenagers are just
Copyright © 2012 by JadeRobinson.us

3. learning how to be more outspoken and they are dealing with new emotions and feelings. This can
result in them expressing good thoughts and ideas in horrible ways. It’s important that as a parent we
take the time to ask our children how they feel about certain things; especially rules and regulations that
we have implemented that affect them.
But more than that, you should be asking about their days and what is going on in their lives. Don’t be
nosey; it’s very important that you respect their right to privacy, particularly if you don’t have any
concerns about their health or safety. It’s important that you child knows that you care about things
going on in their lives even if they don’t feel particularly open to discussing it. Just asking lets them know
you care about them and about their thoughts – both are really important to fostering communication.
Communicating with your teen doesn’t have to be a nightmare, sure it gets a little more difficult
especially when their hormones are charging and their moods change faster than the weather. It’s
important that you don’t press too hard for anything and work on slowly developing the lines of
communication.
What have you found to be effective for helping communication with your teen? Is there anything you
think that is missing from this parent-teen communication 101 guide?
For more details, please visit: http://www.homecontract.org/parenting-contract/
Copyright © 2012 by JadeRobinson.us