The teenage years is when communicating with your child can become difficult. As contradictory as it sounds, listening is the key to success in communicating with your teenager effectively.
When communicating with your teenager it is vitally important that you follow the rules of good communication - empathy, flexibility and open-mindedness. Teenagers often feel that no-one is listening to them and no-one will. You need to counteract this with your own positive actions.
It’s important to be available and accessible for communicating with your teenager. Always be consistent with your answers and reasoning when making decisions or disciplining your teenager. Wait before you speak. Count to 10 first, especially if you are agitated.
When communicating with your teenager don’t give them your answer immediately. Take 10 minutes to make the decision, even if you know what the answer is going to be. This helps to avoid your child throwing in last minute changes to their plans.
Avoiding sarcasm and raising your voice when communicating with your teenager is imperative. Always remain calm and controlled, even if you don’t feel it. This should help towards a better result for both parties.
Learning to apologize is perhaps one of the most important parts of communicating with your teenager. If you end up being wrong admit it. This helps in terms of their respect for you, and shows them that you respect them enough as a person to apologize and admit you were wrong.
Making time for family is another important part of communicating with your teenager. Even if it’s only at dinner time each night, doing things as a family creates good feelings amongst family members – something essential for good communication.
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