Connecting with your teen can be a challenge at times, especially when you are getting the “are you an alien” look from them when you begin to talk. Here is an activity that you can do anytime, anywhere (if you are one of the millions with a smart phone). Take a second and watch the video above.
Did you see it first time through? I will admit that I did not. If you go back and watch it again, you will see it every time. We call that “experience”. You are able to see something that you did not before because you have been through it. As a parent, you have many valuable experiences to share with your teen that they can imitate or avoid. So don’t keep that wealth of knowledge to yourself. Share it!
To get the conversation going, invite your teen over to watch this with you. Then afterwards, use some of these discussion starters to have a conversation. A real life, talking back and forth event (ps. frosties, floats, or milk shakes have been known to make this time pretty special).
- Ask: Why didn’t you see it the first time you watched it?
- Discuss (don’t be afraid of the silence)
- Ask: Why are you able to always see it now?
- Discuss
- Share: There are things in life that you are walking through that you are unable to see because you haven’t been there yet. Because I have been there, I can see them clearly.
- Ask: What is the best way for me to communicate those things I see, that you don’t yet, in a way that you will be willing to receive it?
- Discuss
- Share: There are a lot of things that are different today than when I was a teen. You have experiences that I didn’t when I was a teen
- Share: Here is a few ways that you can talk to me about those things so that I can best know how to support and encourage you…..
- Discuss (keep it going with your own questions!)