Harriet Turk has spent the last two decades in education and business. In the education sector, Harriet developed and implemented multi-million dollar programs for local and state level educational systems as the Youth Programs Coordinator for the Mississippi Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. In this episode, Harriet shares how to build a deeper connection with your teen, even when it feels like they ‘never talk’!
Key Takeaways
- The teen years are a very confusing time. They need a parental figure to connect with them.
- How do you listen to your teen when they’re refusing to talk or share about their lives?
- You can’t set a scheduled time to talk to your teen. You really have to work on their timeline.
- As parents, we want our children to come to where you are. You want them to hang out when you’re cooking, or doing something in the living room, but the best place for connection is by going to their room and where they are.
- Look at your child’s rooms, what are they interested in right now? Can you start a dialogue with them about it?
- Harriet has a Spotify family account and she can see what her son is listening to at the time and can connect with him that way.
- Instead of asking, ‘why’, ask ‘what makes you feel that way’. It helps open up the dialogue much more effectively.
- Remember to be careful about what you say about your ex-spouse when you’re with your children.
- You can’t control the behaviors; you can only control your thoughts.
- What do you do when you get stuck with your teen?
- Consider writing a letter to your teen to help express your feelings in a healthy way.
- If you get frustrated or angry, remember to apologize and to also explain why you might have gotten overprotective.
- How do you help build your child’s self-esteem up?
Quotes:
“When I started going where he was, it seemed our communication opened up more.”
“Adults connect with our minds and then our hearts follow. Kids start with their hearts and how they make them feel, and then their mind follows.”
“I know I’m not going to be the only influence, so who are they gravitating to, and why?”
