6 easy tips on how to communicate with teenagers.
How to communicate with teenagers can become a daunting task unless you start learning the right language. You must prevent yourself from taking good communication for granted and give thought to the right and effective use of your communication with teenagers.
You have to take into account all the things that such communication involves in order to improve the skills that guarantee a better relationship with your children. Expressing yourself verbally is not enough in this case; you will also have to improve your body language. Listening skills must be improved as well in order to connect with your teenage children.
Follow these tips. They work!
1) Start by really listening to what your teenage child is saying to you. He/she needs your full attention. Your mind must be there in order to fully connect with your child. It is not enough to say “I hear you!” You must pay attention because your teenage children deserve your total attention when you are trying to communicate with them. You need to understand that communication is a two way thing.
2) Once you have truly understood this, you will pay more attention to the message you are sending to your teenage children. Another thing you should try and do is to validate your child’s feelings. Your teenage children are keen on expressing all sorts of feelings that need to be validated and not dismissed.
3) The genuine art of how to communicate with teenagers is all about allowing them the necessary space to vent their emotions. Prevent yourself from dismissing their emotions because this is the right way in order for your child to gain confidence in you and share his/her true feelings. The only thing that you will have to do is to set the necessary limits in order to allow the appropriate behavior.
4) Criticism must be avoided – just stay away from saying things like ‘you are stupid’. The critical statements are to be avoided. You must not attack your child. Therefore, you will have to choose the right language and behavior. For instance, try using sentences that start with ‘It makes me feel…’ ‘I need’ and ‘When you’.
5) Learning how to respect your child’s feelings and desires is an important step you should take in learning how to communicate with teenagers. By showing him/her the necessary respect, you will teach your child how to in turn respect to other people. Teens are likely to respect the boundaries once they are established in a wise way.
6) You will have to be clear with your teenage children and let them know what you expect from them. You will also have to make sure that there are some consequences to each of their actions. Do not forget about praising them either because this is the right way to nourish their self esteem and make them feel good about themselves. They will be provided with the power to achieve all the things they want.
One last thing: the way you communicate with them is likely to dictate the way they are going to communicate with other people.
More Information on Teenage Communication
Team Building Activities to Improve Teen Communication
Six Strategies to Develop Teen Communication Skills
Does Your Teen Suffer From Poor Communication Skills?
Four Ways to Help Teenagers Improve Social Communication Skills
