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You gotta love those teens!

Penny Hardy - posted on 03/04/2010 ( 2 moms have responded )

22

209

I don't believe any of us have all the answers to help our teens, but we have had a few things work well for us. The main thing I have learned is that they want you to listen to them. I have found that if I will be sitting down when they come home from school, they will come sit down and talk to me about their day. I have found that our relationship grows as I listen and don't try to solve or comment on anything. Now, they even tell me things that know I wouldn't approve of, because the relationship has been formed!!!

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Sarah - posted on 03/11/2010

177

15

Bedtime is our talking time. My kids still love "mom's bed" We'll lay down and turn off the lights and they'll start talking. They will talk through the night if I let them. Ever since they were babies, there were never any taboo subjects. They still will ask me about anything they hear, from drugs to sex to jobs to things that annoy them. I love it!

Tracy - posted on 03/10/2010

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0

Amen, sister Penny! In addition to establishing trust and forming good relationships with your teens, you are also increasing their self esteem! And when you have those conversations with them, you are creating teachable moments that allow you to solidify a good moral code.



The thing that really seems to work for me is keeping dinnertime "sacred." By that I mean we always eat dinner together as a family at a table, whether it's our dinner table or a restaurant table, and we use that time to talk about our days, funny things that happened, "remember whens", or sometimes we even have serious conversations, depending on what's going on in our lives at the time. My teen and my preteen both open up a great deal, and we find out all kinds of good stuff! There has been nothing that has helped bond our family together stronger than this special time each day.

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