Search Results for: blog your teen is really listening

Gift Giving for Teens

Black Friday…Cyber Monday.  It’s that time of year, the purchasing of Christmas gifts.  As a parent it can either be a stressful experience or easy-going. Here is something I have come to realize through the years.  You buy more when they are younger.  So that means more thought needs to be put into your children’s gifts.  You buy less as they get older.  But they also tend to be more expensive gifts. There is a part of me that misses shopping for toys.  It has become sort of boring, since the majority of the time my children want money.  Sure, … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away: Use Sarcasm to Get Your Point Across (Part 6)

Maybe this isn’t a problem for you but it is definitely one for me, sarcasm. I believe it was inherited from my father. In fact, I remember as a teenager really not liking it when he was sarcastic. So I have to really work on that when it comes to my teens. Today in the “10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away,” we are going to look at what can be a common problem for parents who are trying to get their point across, the use of sarcasm. I had always considered it to be a “funny” way of expressing … Continue reading →

Are You Listening?

Our kids are constantly talking to us all day, every day, but are we taking the time to really listen to them? As a single parent there are a million things to do when you get home from work every day. You still need to cook dinner, do the laundry, sweep and mop the floor, pick up the house, get the kids ready for bed, and so much more. You don’t have much, if any time to yourself, so when your five year old comes running in to tell you every detail about what they did at school that day, … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away: Offer Advice When They Don’t Want It (Part 4)

Continuing on in my “10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away,” I am going to be talking about offering advice when your teen doesn’t really want it. The key is to know ahead of time, before you say anything, what they are looking for from you. It is the easiest thing to do (at least for me)…to offer my opinion or advice on a situation my teen is facing. But if they aren’t looking for it, they may not only reject it but it may cause them to pull away from you. When your teen comes to you about a … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away: Focus Only on the Wrong (Part 2)

In this part of my series on “10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away,” we are going to consider how we as parents can sometimes focus only on the wrong. In other words, we fail to see the good things because we allow the not-so-good things to become greater. Anyone with a teenager has some degree of difficulty. Some teens are just easier than others. And parents can make the mistake of assuming that it is only based on parenting. In other words, if their teen is a good kid they have done something right but if their teen isn’t, … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away: Don’t Listen to Them (Part 1)

Okay, so I really doubt that any parent’s goal is to push their teen away. My hope is that this blog series gets your attention though. Because we may be doing the very thing we don’t mean to do. I know I have. One of the first ways you can push your teen away is to not listen to them. This can play out a couple of different ways. The first is that you are quicker about responding or reacting than you are listening. One of the Bible verses that I often rely upon in parenting is this: “Everyone should … Continue reading →

Show Your Teen You Are a Good Listener

I am definitely not an expert at parenting. I still have three children living at home with several years left, so I don’t claim to know it all. But there are some things I have learned that I believe could be a huge benefit to other parents. Even in the advice that I pass along, it doesn’t necessarily mean I have it down pat. I might still be working on it myself, which is the case here. If I could wrap up in one sentence what I would want to say to any parent when it comes to communication with … Continue reading →

Great Gift Idea for Your Teen

I have a GREAT gift idea for your teen…earphones, but not just any kind of earphones. I am very impressed with a pair that I received free-of-charge. I was asked to provide a review on dB Logic earphones which are priced at $34.95. Let me tell you that they are worth the cost. In fact, I was so impressed with them that I plan on purchasing a couple of more for my other children. The biggest reason I like these earphones is because they actually protect your hearing while you listen. I cannot tell you the number of times I … Continue reading →

Creative Communication with Your Teen

If you are the parent of a teen, then you know how difficult communication can be at times. If it’s not a breakdown of communication, it is miscommunication. Either one can get you in trouble. So how does a parent find a way to communicate with their teen when it feels like they are dealing with a clam? You know the type…they won’t open their mouth for anything. They feel uncomfortable being put on the spot and made to feel that they have to talk. One way is to not make it so formal. Talking with your teen doesn’t have … Continue reading →

Sometimes It’s Not Advice You Want But a Listening Ear

I never thought I would say this but my youngest son, who is only in 6th grade, has lately been more work for me than my 16 year old and 13 year old combined. I don’t know if I should put that on the fact that my two older teens are just exceptionally well behaved or that I have an exceptionally challenging youngest child. All I know is that all of your parenting skills seem to go right out the window when you are dealing with a child who challenges you unlike anything you have had to deal with. And … Continue reading →