Teens Don’t Always Verbalize Their Needs
Communication between teenagers and their parents can be a challenging task, but it is so important for maintaining a strong relationship now and in the future. I get your frustration! I struggled to know and really understand my teens when I was raising them. I wanted to engage…but they were just in their own world a lot…and you know, teens think they know everything and we wouldn’t understand their needs.
After years of listening to teens in session talk about how they really wanted to talk with their parents, but just didn’t know how, I started thinking about these barriers and ways to help facilitate communication. You see, many adolescents didn’t know where to start or how to initiate difficult conversations. Others felt scared and afraid to address topics that they didn’t think their parents would understand or be open to due to a clash of values. So these teens stuffed their feelings…and the gap between connection with their parents just got bigger! So I created a solution that would be a Win Win for both parents and their teen.
Combating Teen Anxiety
I learned that an effective way to encourage open communication was for teens to write their feelings rather than open verbal discussion. So I designed a teen-parent communication journal for this specific purpose. The Combating Teen Anxiety Teen-Parent Communication Journal provides a safe space for both parties to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or defensive responses.
Parents and teenagers can use the journal to share their daily experiences, thoughts, and emotions, which can help them understand each other better. The journal can also serve as a tool for conflict resolution, allowing both parties to express their opinions and come to a mutual understanding. The prompts help both the teen and their parents pause, think about their emotional, physical, and behavioral responses to a situation. It allows them to speak from a place of vulnerability by asking for what they need in order to feel safe communicating with each other authentically. The prompts encourage each to think about the other’s intentions and assume that they didn’t deliberately want to hurt them. It also facilitates positive communication statements and provides emotional vocabulary to expand each of their understanding of their own feelings and behaviors,
Affordable and Accessible
I wanted to make this very accessible to every parent struggling, so I published the journal and have it available on Amazon here.
Parents can start by introducing the idea to their teenagers and explaining how it works. They can also set aside dedicated time each week to sit down and write in the journal and then place the journal in a safe place for the other one to read and respond. The ultimate goal is for actual verbal communication to come out of these entries…but it’s a great starting place for breaking the ice and getting the hard feelings out. By making it a routine, the journal becomes a regular part of their relationship and encourages ongoing effective communication.
Check out this video where I talk about the Journal.
If you know someone who would benefit from this incredible tool please feel free to share my blog and link to the journal on Amazon.