Star2, Wednesday 24 April 2013
Teens and Tweens by Charis Patrick
On Your Teen's Frequency
Maybe, just maybe, getting through to teenagers is about talking less and listening more. Communication with teenagers is extremely important but it can be very challenging too. Globalization has an effect on the effectiveness and amount of interaction between parents and teens.
Although adults have much more life experience, teens tend not to give credence to the parent's advice, wisdom, and guidance. They spend more time in their room, with their peers and also be away from family activities. Consequently, the opportunity for communication with the teen starts to diminish. To make it worst, teens do not communicate their feelings as much. Communication about what they did the day before, where they are going, or with whom they are going out, slowly decreases.
Parents will start feeling lost and frustrated. Teenagers think it as the 'frequency' gap. Some suggestions to increase the quantity and improve the quality of communication with teenagers are:
1. Parent-teen communication
- try to provide as many opportunity as possible to be together
- when there is quantity, then there can be quality
2. Listening
- listen to them first, then they will listen to you
3. Cease the nagging
- impose short-term consequences
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