Inside:Get your teen to talk to you by asking these surprising questions
In my perfect world, my two teens would come home from school, sit at the counter top and tell me about their day. I would hear who is dating whom, how each test went, when the upcoming school play is, and every other little detail. I would chime in here or there with sage words of advice or stories about “when I was their age…..”
It would be delightful.
Now, if you actually are the parent of a teenager, you know how far off from reality I am.
What actually happens in my home?
My daughters come through the door, grab a snack and head off to their rooms to either change for a practice or do their homework. If I happen to be in the kitchen, I spit out a few questions like “How was your day?” or “Was that science test as hard as you thought?” or maybe “What time do I need you to pick up again?” From that I usually get a series of one-word answers, such as “fine” or “good” or “six.” And then they’re gone.
I even tried one of those “50 questions to get your teen talking” lists. All it got me was a series of eye rolls.
It’s hard not to take the brush off personally and wonder where you went wrong. It’s difficult not to wax nostalgic about that kid who used to talk for hours telling you every detail about Minecraft or a new friend at school.
But science and hundreds of parenting experts can explain it.
According to Newton’s third law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That means, the harder we push our kids to talk, they equally, if not more so, will shut down.
Why does this happen?
Because parents are hard-wired to support our offspring, and that means we want to know what is going on in our kids’ lives so we can help them. Teenagers, on the other hand, want nothing more than to be independent. Two opposing actions creating enough friction for a nuclear meltdown.
Why is it so hard for teens to answer a few simple questions though?
Despite our best claims to be non-judgmental when our teens tell us something, we’re not and they know it. If they have behaved badly, we’re disappointed. If they put themselves in dangerous situations, we worry. And they hate when we worry.
Additionally, teens have a sixth sense when parents ask questions that are too specific. Most shut down when a parent starts poking around about friendships or things that happen at school. Many teens like to keep their home life separate from their school/peer one.
So, what’s a parent to do?
Recently a friend shared a trick that is so simple, but so brilliant. She explained how her 14-year old son was experiencing a difficult transition into high school. His friends were in different classes and activities, and he felt isolated – or so she thought because he refused to discuss it despite repeated attempts. Her concern grew as her son spent more and more time alone in his room.
One day, my normally type-A friend asked her son a simple question: “Do you want to go to the arcade?” She knew he loved to play video games and she just wanted to see him smile again.
At first he hemmed and hawed, but eventually relented.
During that time that afternoon, she did not inquire about school or his feelings. She did ask, “Hey, show me how to shift in this race car game,” and she did say, “I’m going to kick your butt in Ms. Pac Man,” but nothing about his friendships or behavior.
Over a burger and fries later that day, her son said, “Thanks for this Mom. It’s the most fun I’ve had in awhile.”
She said, “Me too. I’m here if you ever want to talk.”
Over the next few weeks, she continued to avoid the topic she wanted to know most about and instead the only questions she asked were if he wanted to do something with her.
“Hey, do you want to go grab a coffee?”
“Can you come to the store with me?”
“Do you want to go pick out your new soccer cleats?”
And on each of those interactions, she received a little bit more information. She found out her son was lonely and a bit intimidated by the difficulty of his new classes. He was a little hurt that his friends from middle school didn’t include him in a few group outings, and he mentioned a girl several times in passing.
Instead of pressing on any of those issues, she only nodded her head or said things like, “I can see why that would bother you.” She recognized that her son was not looking for her to fix anything. He just needed someone to share his pain. The hope is that by her making herself available without judgment, when he may be in serious trouble, he will know she is there for him.
Could it really be so simple to get your teen to talk?
Impressed with the depth of knowledge my friend acquired, I felt compelled to try it myself with my own teens. I had some concerns with one of my daughters on a few things happening within her friend-set, but she shut down anytime I brought it up. One time she even yelled, “I don’t want to talk about it with you!”
It was time to try a different tact. For one week, I didn’t ask a single question about the situation with their friends.
Instead, I asked:
“Do you want to go to Starbucks”
“Can you help me pick out an outfit for this dinner I have to go to?”
“I have to go get some new make up, do you want to come with?”
And slowly, but surely, she opened up. I didn’t ask any questions. I became comfortable with awkward silences. I tried not to offer advice unless prompted. I painstakingly withheld my opinions, even when it about killed me.
But here and there I received a few nuggets of information – enough to make me feel better about the situation with her friends and more comfortable with our lines of communication.
Recognizing that my teens wanted control and privacy over their lives was difficult.
The harder I tried, the worse our relationship became. However, I came to realize that controlling the information they provided to me, even controlling their attention at me, was about the only power they felt they had in our relationship.
When I diffused the power struggle, my daughter had the ability to determine if, when and where she would discuss these issues.
It was up to me to come to terms with the fact that it doesn’t matter when they talk to me; what matters is they keep talking to me.
I still miss the time that they wanted to share every detail about their day, when they talked so much I wanted to hit “mute,” but relinquishing some control and getting my teens to spend some quality time with me, well, that’s pretty great too.
Related Posts:
10 Ways To Build A Rock Solid Relationship With Your Teen (or Tween)
Ten Things Every Mom Wants Her Tween Girl To Know
Six Surprising Words You Need To Stop Using When Raising Teens
Related Books:
How to Talk so Teens Will Listen and How to Listen so Teens Will Talk
Parenting Teens with Love and Logic
Do you have other ways you get your teen to talk?
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