I am a mother of a 14 year old daughter and I am a pretty confident mom. But at times when I am alone, I feel, is it time to prepare myself for lots of worries and emotional outbursts? I remember my younger days when I felt the emotional distance between my mother and I when I desperately wanted a better relationship. I love my mom a lot, but why is she still not so close to me? I am yet to find the answer. I am not the only one struggling with this issue. I have seen many parents around me finding it difficult to keep up emotionally with their teenage kids.

Few parents are overly rigid and are too strict to their little darlings and few acts like friends sharing intimate detail of personal lives and etc. The best type of parents, what I feel are those who are a middle type, means one who is easily accessible and has a real interest in her child. You have a great potential to become friends with your teenagers only if you follow some few simple rules. Let’s take a look.

Develop a good communication: Teenagers always have a desire to have a relationship with the other sex and if you have a good communication, then chances are high that they will tell you about their personal feelings. To strike up a conversation, talk to them about their activities in the school or how they had spent their time, but make sure not to ask any intrusive questions.

Be interested in what they tell: Take interest in what your teenage kids have to share with you. Listen to them with great interest and respond accordingly. If you show them that you are busy, then they might start to maintain a distance from you. Do your best not to be a parent, but be a good friend whom your daughter can trust and someone from whom your teenager kid would not run away.

Be confident and act as required:  A true friend doesn’t blab about her buddies. Good parents need to vent on occasion, but proceed with caution. Never talk about them on their back as they will stop sharing things with you again. If you disagree with your daughter’s choice of dressing, then tell her face to face and be reasonable.   Don’t criticize your teen’s friends, unless the things are very serious because kids have a close relationship with their friends.

Be benevolent:  Sometimes acting like a friend with your teens will help them to mix with you freely. No one, especially the teenagers doesn’t like to be told what to do and what not to do always. So develop a loving rapport with them as becoming a friend will actually help you to have more control over than those who act like a boss.

Plan out activities for the family: This is a great means to spend time with your teens. Some extra-curricular activities or simply going out for a picnic with his or her friends can help you to mix with them and spend some quality time.

Thus, your aim as a parent should always be to make sure that your teenager kid considers you as his or her friend and you offer them unconditional love and support.