Effective Communication Skills

Communication and Teenagers

Parents, when you were a teenager growing up, didn’t you wish your parents would have listened to you more? And didn’t you wish you would have been allowed to talk more about your feelings?

Well, guess what? The same exact things that frustrated you as a teenager also frustrates your teenager.

Here’s a very real fact:

“Teens don’t talk about how they feel, because they don’t think their parents will listen or understand their problems.”

Granted, that’s an ironic statement, because teens don’t always listen to advice given to them by their parents.

However, it’s still important to open the lines of communication. And listening and sharing feelings are at the very heart of communication.

Communication also allows you to get significantly closer to your teenager by listening to them and empathizing with their feelings.

It’s important to let teens know that you value their opinions, ideas, concerns, needs, and feelings. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you agree with what they’re saying, but instead, you give them the assurance that what they’re saying is important.

To a teenager, communication that focuses on their being heard and understood is much more effective than trying to force your teen to agree with your position.

The latter approach often backfires.

by Steve Peterson

Steve Peterson is the owner of the hot new family website, HomeandFamily101.com

http://homeandfamily101.com