Teenagers are complex beings that require a little extra care and attention. If you already have a teen in your household, you will be well aware of this notion and will have probably looked into all types of different research to provide you with some answers. When it comes to promoting positive mental health, it’s very important to be there to listen to your child or teenager whenever they need you. However, at times it can be very difficult to hold a conversation with them. Having a teenager who doesn’t listen to you is very normal, but you’re probably starting to feel frustrated that all of your efforts are going to waste. Consider some of the following ideas and you may start to see a little bit more progress when it comes to communicating with your young adult.
Continue to Talk To Them
Although you should never be pestering your child, you should ignore them completely when they’re ignoring you. You need to show them that you’re a consistent presence in their life and you’ll always be there to help them through anything. Continue to talk to them in a positive way and you may soon start to see some results.
Point Them Towards Other Types of Help
If your child is feeling embarrassed or too shy to talk to you about certain subject matters such as mental health, bullying or anything particularly serious, you can always point them towards resources and other people who can help them. Whether you’re recommending an online help chat with a non-judgmental volunteer, or you’re directing them towards their teachers at school for more support, there will always be someone who is willing to help.
Ask Them How They Want to Communicate
It may be that your teenager has a specific type of communication in mind, which you need to honor and respect. Talk to them about exactly what they need to support and what you can do to help. They may request that you leave them to their own devices to figure out, or they may simply want to head out on a long car ride and talk it out. Do what makes them feel comfortable and you’ll get more from them in this way.
Increase Your Quality Time Together
Although it may seem as though your teenager isn’t interested in spending time with you, it’s so important to carve out moments for quality time together as a family. When you start breaking down the barriers and creating more opportunities for fun and laid-back situations you will start to open up the levels of communication between you and your teen.
Hopefully, some of these ideas work well for you and your family. Obviously, every teenager is different and will require you to communicate in certain ways depending on their personal needs and their mood at the time too! There is support available if you’re struggling to speak to your teenager, so make sure you reach out to those who can lend you a helping hand on those difficult days. Eventually, they will come around and start to communicate with you in a more positive way.