{"id":34449,"date":"2022-05-30T08:40:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T08:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\/"},"modified":"2022-05-30T08:40:04","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T08:40:04","slug":"how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\/","title":{"rendered":"How to stay connected with your teenager"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the terrible twos may have been challenging, many feel unprepared for parenting an emotional teen undergoing rapid physical and hormonal changes. Your once communicative child may no longer want to connect with you. Helpful tips for connection:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To understand what\u2019s going on in your teen\u2019s life, it may be more effective to listen and observe rather than ask direct questions. Teenagers are more likely to open up if they don\u2019t feel pressurised. A random comment or discussion about politics, music, or sports may be your teen\u2019s way of reaching out, and you\u2019ll learn more if you stay open and interested.<\/li>\n
  2. Empathise rather than criticise.<\/strong> Validate and show that you understand by reflecting on their feelings, such as: \u201cShew, that sounds really difficult\/embarrassing\/scary,\u201d rather than saying, \u201cthat\u2019s ridiculous!\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Assign responsibilities<\/strong>. Teens want to be taken seriously, so look for ways to show that you trust and have faith in them. This will boost your teen\u2019s confidence and they will probably rise to the occasion.<\/li>\n
  4. Teenagers may act like they’re too cool to care, but they need the confidence booster from their parents, just as much as younger kids. Remind them that you love them every day, even when they\u2019re acting out.<\/li>\n
  5. Set boundaries and rules. <\/strong>Set the rules for good behaviour, but be ready to explain them. Pushing the boundaries is natural for a teenager, but hearing your thoughtful explanations will make the rules seem more reasonable. When rules are broken, make sure to have consistent consequences in place.<\/li>\n
  6. Control your reactions.<\/strong> It\u2019s natural to get angry when your teen is being rude. You\u2019re the adult and they\u2019re less able to control their emotions or think logically when they\u2019re upset. Count to ten or take some deep breaths before responding.<\/li>\n
  7. Do things together.<\/strong> Talking isn\u2019t the only way to connect. Spend one-on-one, undistracted time doing things you both enjoy, whether cooking, walking or watching a movie, and having family meals. It\u2019s important for your teen to know that they can hang out with you and build happy experiences, without worrying that you will grill or scold them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    LifeAssist has a team of counsellors that can help you navigate this tough period in your family\u2019s life. Your teenager also has access to this service, confidentially and at no cost to you or your family. We are here to support you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While the terrible twos may have been challenging, many feel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2022-june-articles","category-your-wellness-family"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to stay connected with your teenager - Sizani<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to stay connected with your teenager - Sizani\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While the terrible twos may have been challenging, many feel [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sizani\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-30T08:40:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/yourlifeassist.co.za\/sizani\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2022\/05\/teens.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"zara\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"zara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"zara\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af95e4ffad46b719e872bdf047249ab2\"},\"headline\":\"How to stay connected with your teenager\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-30T08:40:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":414,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/how-to-stay-connected-with-your-teenager\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/yourlifeassist.co.za\\\/sizani\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2022\\\/05\\\/teens.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2022 June Articles\",\"Your Wellness - 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