Helping Your Teen Build Better Relationships
As our children grow older, they face many difficulties. They have to figure out who they are, what their purpose is, and work hard to not fall for peer pressure. In our current society, being a teenager is hard. They are exposed to a lot through media and peers and are expected to stay true to their beliefs and not follow what everyone else is doing. We want our children to stay away from certain things, we want them to be strong enough to say no to peer pressure, and to question why they should act like others. Being a part to a teenager is also hard because once our kids hit that age, they become more independent, secretive, and stubborn. But we can help them stay on the right path.
At Resurrection Christian School, we understand the difficulties of being a teenager. We understand that there are different forces telling our teens to make different decisions, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help them stay on the right path. The staff at Resurrection Christian School can help your students stay on track. We will give them a great education that will help them advance in their future, give them the opportunity to become a part of the community, and help them express their love for God.
Helping your teen grow and develop into a well-rounded adult is something most parents work hard for, but teens are difficult. We have all been a teenager at one point, think about how you acted and how you treated your parents. In this blog, we are going to go over different ways to build a better relationship with your teen and help them build a better relationship with God.
Spend Time With Them
Even though your teen probably thinks it is no longer cool to hang out with their parents, it is important that you push for family time and encourage them to spend time with you. Find something that you can all do as a family that will be fun and allow them to see that spending time with you isn’t all that bad. Have a family game night, cook dinner together, go for bike rides or walks through the park—anything that allows for conversation and fun. Another great thing to do with your teen is to go to church activities together or participate in church volunteer events. Don’t allow them to spend their time with your texting or checking social media, and make sure you aren’t doing it either. Even if it is one on one time, like taking your daughter shopping or golfing with your son, they will be able to build a new relationship with you and feel comfortable talking to you about different things. Plus, they may start enjoying your weekly hangouts.
Listen And Be Open
One reason why teenagers don’t always tell their parents everything is because parents are not always the best listeners. If your teen comes to you for advice or just to vent, try to be a good listener and don’t judge or get upset. Listen to what they have to say, their opinion, or whatever else they want to tell you and think before answering. Some people want your advice and others don’t, they just want to vent. If you aren’t sure what your teen is looking for when they talk to you, ask them “would you like my advice?” and if they say yes then you can give it to them, but if not, staying quiet is better. One bad conversation with your teen and they may not come to you to talk again. It is hard to be quiet during certain discussions with your teen, but knowing how to respond and making sure you think before you speak can help them come to you more often for talks and allow your relationship to grow stronger.
Remain a Parent
As your teens grow older and you can have adult conversations with them, it is easy to start seeing them more as a friend than a child. While this isn’t the worst thing in the world, you should be aware that it may not help your relationship. Your teen still needs a parent and definitely still needs someone setting guidelines and rules (whether they agree or not). Be sure to set boundaries and make sure your teenager understands that you are still in charge. That being said, you should still be sure to try to treat them as adults and not children. Calmly talk about the boundaries you are setting and hear out their arguments. You can listen to what they have to say but don’t let them make their own rules.
Show You Care
Being a teenager is a weird and troubling time. More than anything, your teen needs your love and support. During adolescence, it feels as though the world is against us, so being on your their side can help you build a better relationship and help them through a few difficult years. Make small gestures to show you care and support them. Make their favorite meal on a day that is stressful for them, leave them notes just to say you are proud, and be sure you always apologize or discuss your argument and figure it out together. Never stay mad and never let them stay mad, this will help you work on your relationship, as well as teach your teen how to best handle conflict.
Once your relationship with your teen is stronger, you can help them work on their relationship with Christ. At RCS, we will help your teens stay involved with church, mission trips, and daily prayer. But you can also help them, by incorporating different daily activities at home.
Pray
Making prayer a part of your families daily routines can help to make God more prevalent in your lives. Pray before you eat, before you go to bed, on the way to school, and any other time that feels right. Pray with your teens about people in their school, people you work with, and other families in need. This is a great way to feel closer to God and help your teen build a better relationship with Christ.
Go To Church
Go to church more than just on special occasions, like holidays. Make church a part of your life by going every weekend and getting involved. Volunteer at church events, join a bible study group with your teen, and help them get involved with different groups within your church. This will allow them to meet other teens who are making Christ a main part of their lives, helping them to find good influences to surround themselves with.
Volunteer
Being selfless and volunteering in your community can help in many ways. It will help you and your teen’s relationship grow stronger, while also helping them to realize the importance of helping others and allowing them to learn gratitude. Even if it is not through the church, this can help build their religious relationship more.
There are many ways to help your teen develop a better relationship with God, but these are a few of the simplest way to do so while also working on your relationship with them.
Your teenager is no longer a child, meaning that you cannot treat them like they are. Work on your relationship with them, it can help them make it through this tricky time and may even alter how they make their choices. Your relationship with your teen is important and having a good relationship can help ensure that they turn out better than you hoped. You can also help them work on their relationship with God, by spending time with them at church activities, making prayer a daily part of your life, and by connecting through volunteer.
At Resurrection Christian School, we can help your teenager in many ways. Our education program is one of the best in Northern Colorado, we involve Christ into our daily routines, and we help prepare your kids for the future. Apply your child today and learn more about our schools.