People that have teenage children know that having a good relationship with them is not easy, no matter how good you are and how good your children might be. As they grow up, children become more and more complicated. This article might provide you with some ideas to improve your relationship with your teenage child and might help you become friends with him/her.
Over time, we have found that there are details that might not seem to be extremely important, but they make the relationship with the teenage child the best that can be often compared to those relations that we see in movies and which we read through books.
Here are some tips & tricks to improve your relation with your teenage child and become good friends:
- Carefully listen to them
It is not new that listening is an essential element of a good relationship, not just between parents and children, but between people in general. Listen carefully to what your child tells you because often teens communicate much more than what they seem to say. Listen and pay attention to the tone and his/her body language.
- Ask how their day was, do this on a daily basis!
That will show them that you care. Try not to be formal and ask specific questions about school, friends, anything … anything. Do not get involved more than necessary! Your teenage child needs to be listened to what he has to say. Be careful not to get involved too much in their problems,, otherwise you will make them feel uncomfortable.
- Respect their music tastes!
Let your teenager be a DJ, because often the music they are listening to is an important part of their personality. Let them choose the radio station they desire, even if you have different tastes. Let them talk to you about their musical preferences.
- Make a reading club!
The lack of reading for teenagers nowadays is often a big problem. Instead of always asking them to read specific books, try do it together! Just buy two copies of the same book and read at the same time, commenting on the action, characters, etc.
- Offer to organize a party for their friends with them!
Engage both of you in everything from organizing the menu to fun games. It’s a great way to teach the teenage child how to cook light snacks, how to organize a party, and is also an excellent opportunity to meet their friends. Be careful to step back from them when appropriate.
- Let them feel free!
If you do not have a good reason, try not to follow your baby step by step. Letting them make mistakes is just as important as helping them in various situations. When you go to a party or a meeting, simply tell them if you’re worried, tell them you trust them, but you also need to make sure everything is okay. Calm down and ask about everything you need to calm down (who he gets out with, where, if he’s older, what he’s going to do, etc.) Try not to ask questions like he is at an interrogatory.
- Watch TV together!
Yes, we all know that watching television is not a very healthy activity, but a movie or a show once or twice a week watched together is an excellent way to interact with your teenage child and to make your relation with them much better.
- Do not miss important events!
If your adolescent has a passion, is involved in an extracurricular project, has a concert, a contest, or anything else designed to stimulate self-esteem, make sure you are not missing out on these events that require encouragement and support.
- Help them with homework!
Not in the sense of doing their homework, but try to check out, or correct an essay or anything else to show your support. Also make them understand you know know how hard it might be.
- Ask them to teach you something!
Teenagers want to be mature and be taken seriously. And what other evidence of seriousness can be stronger than an adult’s request to teach them something? Whether it is gadgets, the Internet or anything else, ask for advice from time to time and ask them to teach you something you can not do because that one belongs to his generation.
Beside these tricks & tips, which can certainly have a very big impact on your relation with your teenager child and lead to a strong friendship, the most important thing to build a strong relationship with your teenage child is to constantly show them your unconditional love for them, that support them unconditionally, no matter how many mistakes they might make, show them how much you appreciate what they do, this should be your most important goal.
