What to say when you don't know what to say

 I often hear, "I don't even know what to say to him/her.  I don't know how to talk to him/her."  Referring to their teen.  


I've been there too when I don't know what to say.  When you tell yourself you don't know what to say, it makes it really hard to know what to say to your teen.  
I'm referring to day to day conversations.

Here are a few things you can try.

Be more specific in your questions.  Instead of, "how was school, work, track, lunch, basketball, etc."

Try: 
  • What was the best part of your day?
  • Did anything funny happen?
  • What do you love about...
  • Who did you eat lunch with?
  • What's your favorite class?
  • What do you like about your team?
One easy thing that will get your teen talking is to ask about the things they are interested in, then REALLY listen. 

Ask, "when is a good time to talk about": that date, the dance, what they did hanging out with friends, how was the movie, work, etc. 

Tell them about something you are up to.  
Tell them how awesome they are (yes, they are going to probably role their eyes).

What would you add to this list?

Parenting a teen doesn't come with a manual, but I have found so many things that have helped me and that have made my relationships with my teens better than I ever thought.  Some people I talk to feel embarrassed that this is a struggle, but it doesn't have to be.  I used to be scared to have teens and felt embarrassed that I didn't know what I was doing.  Trust me your relationships are priceless and worth working on.  

You can sign up HERE for free for a relationship audit.  It's easy peasy I ask you some questions and share tools that will help and let you know how we can work together further if that's something you're interested in.   If not, no problemo.  You will have improved your relationship in the short time we are together and feel so much better about it.  

Talk to you soon,
Megan

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