Parents often complain that their teenager kids refuse to listen and are rebellious. It seems that there is always a gap between them and this makes it difficult to communicate and have a better relationship. As a parent, it is our job to meet the emotional needs of our teen kids during this stage of their development. They need more support and love from their parents when other things in their life are changing fast.

For some parents, maintaining a good relationship with their teenagers can be a difficult task while for others the changes are more subtle.  Studies have revealed that the conflict between the two is because the young adult wants to be more independent and parents continue to be more protective. This results into upsetting the parents. In this blog, let’s discuss some useful positive parenting tips that can help parents maintain a healthy relationship with their teenager kids.

Listen more than you speak: Communicating with your child is very important and at this stage you should spend twice as much time in listening than in talking. Stop giving advice in each and everything. It is better to be quiet and wait until they ask for your opinion. This will give your kids to open up more and be prepared to answer when you are asked.

Spend more time together: Teenager often become too busy with their school friends and other activities, but you can always have a conversation with them while having dinner, watching TV or when you are in the car. Try to find out what they think and how they would react to certain specific situations. Talk about controversial subjects as you would do with someone you have extreme respect, but don’t get involved in arguments.

Always be available when they want to talk: Most teens usually open up either late at night or in the wee hours. They don’t like to maintain a strict schedule to bring up things in a fixed meeting. If you are a good listener, you will find them sharing many things with you. This will offer them emotional availability, which is important to develop a close relationship. So, practice to stop everything else if your teen shows a desire to talk to you.

Don’t take it personally: If in any case, you both have any arguments and your teenager slams the door while screaming that you never understand, then don’t take the issue personally. This is the time when they change both physically as well as mentally and it is difficult to control them. Taking their words too personally will only widen the gap. Instead, let the matter end there and remind yourself of all the good things that your child has done to make you happy.

Establish boundaries and discipline: A good life and a good relationship will always have some rules to follow. Let your teenage kids know what they can do and what they cannot. Clearly establish some rules and discipline methods at home. Don’t be too lax or don’t be too strict. Tell them clearly what you expect from them and how they should behave with their friends or peers.

Parenting becomes very difficult if you are unable to understand your kids. To have a healthy relationship spend more time with them, be a patient listener and offer them security, love and warmth.