How to build a Better Relationship between Teenagers and Parents - by Mitesh Mehta

Every relationship is a treasure. One of the most sensitive relations among them is that of a child and a parent. When children are small, there are no such issues. But as and when they start to develop the understanding and get engrossed in the world, they begin facing difficulties. Out of all the battles they have, one most common is maintaining a good bond with their parents.

There is no doubt how important they are for each other. But like every relation, this relation also has its roller coaster experience. The peak of this roller coaster is during the teenage. It is a well-established fact that teens are developing advanced skills with time, and parents cannot always cope with their speed. With the advent of technology and constant struggle in the competitive world, the gap between parents and children is increasing day by day.

Let’s understand it in detail.

Problems Faced by Teens

The teens today like to be “cool.” They believe in having their own space. They even like to be in charge of their life and not depend on anyone for their decision-making process. They wish to live life on their own terms.

However, all of this is not communicated with the parents. The generation gap makes it more difficult for them to understand this, as well. For this generation with the adrenaline rush, this gap is perceived as another conflict, most probably a silent one.

Parents’ Point of View

Parents are people who wish the best for their children. They do their best to give all that their child needs. In return, they have some basic expectations that are very normal to have. Sometimes, they are fundamental ones, such as giving them time, helping them in specific work scenarios, respecting them, understanding their concerns, sharing their experiences with them, listening to them, and much more.

However, due to busy work schedules and inability to understand their child’s silent conflicts, they have several issues. A child always remains small for the parents, and parents are the all-time backbones of any child. Some misunderstandings gaps should not spoil the relation between them.

Here I, Mitesh Mehta – a student mentor and an expert parenting coach – bring to you some ways to fill in the gap and improve the relationship.

Filling a gap for better healthy relation includes;

Communication

As we already know, the lack of communication ruins everything, and the presence of communication can bring wars to peace. Lack of communication is a widespread issue among parents and teens. They both assume that the other party won’t understand what they intend to say. Well, you never know the outcome until you put into action. So dear parents and dearest teens… COMMUNICATE… even when it is uncomfortable. Because without communication, you cannot understand each other. Start slowly by sharing little things, at least.

Spending Time

Time is always valuable in terms of relationships. Spending some amount of time can bridge the gap between parents and teenagers. You don’t need to go out on fancy dinners or outings for this. It could be something as small as talking about childhood memories, have meals together, see, know their experiences and share yours, hold on to family albums, share the moments captured, and get refreshed. And during all this, just keep your phone aside.

Empathize and Validate

Significant distress is caused to both when they acknowledge or validate each other’s feelings and emotions. The experiences and learnings are going to be different for each individual. Maybe that it is out of your capacity to understand, but that doesn’t mean your demeanor invalidates their feelings. You have to realize that there is a gap, and things that did not occur at your time may arise in their time. So just listen and try to understand. Empathize with them.

Tech-savvy

Parents may not get the hang of the technology so soon. So teens do take out some time and help them get acquainted with the technology. The best part, to flow with the current situation, as this is a generation of the online world, mommies and daddies challenge yourself and know more about networking, social media, online games, etc. This will give you a fun experience, and you can keep track of the growth of science and intelligence.

The Bottom Line

The relationship between parents and teenagers is not that difficult to handle. Both are struggling to acquire changes in their lives. Let’s heal it by lessening each other’s hold, giving space to each other. Parents should refrain from trying to control their child’s life and instead motivate them to lead towards a better experience of their own. And teens must obey and respect them. In the case of disagreement, try and talk it out.

Regardless of the gap, this relation always blossoms. No one can ever love a child as the parents do, and none can replace the parents for a child. It is indeed a joint venture. So let’s keep the differences aside and focus on building a better connection. No matter what the future holds for you, this connection will be a significant part of your life. So why not make it a beautiful one? Dear parents and dear teenagers, let’s build a better relationship now where one understands the other and vice versa.