teens want parents

Parents, Your Teens Want You Even More Than Their Phones

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(Inside: Teens want their parents. They don’t always say it, but their knee-jerk reactions always show it. Teens want their parents. Read on…)

Parents, your teens want you EVEN MORE than they want their phones.

It’s true.

I know teens can pelt angst around like the star offensive player of a dodgeball team.

When asked to unload the dishwasher the most tragic sigh can be unleashed, making you wonder if they thought you said that they needed to build a dishwasher.

After you listen and soak in their current life stories, you share a similar lived experience and how you grew from it thinking you nailed the connection. They look at you with a you-just-don’t-me reply.
 
You’re gearing up for a fun family night full of good food and a great activity, and they tell you they made plans with their friends or are tired and want to stay in their rooms.
 
But, even so, moms and dads, teens still want you more than anything else.
 

As a high school teacher, I see this daily. Yes, of course, I hear the complaints about “I can’t believe my parents made-me/said/decided-to do this or that.” But their actions always tell a different story

When my students ace their tests, the first people they want to text are you.
 
If something upsets them, they want to go home and be around you.
 
When they forget their soccer cleats or if there is a change to the game time, they want to immediately contact you.
 

If something happens at home that’s bothering them, they are unfocused and anxious in the classroom until they figure it out with you.

When discussing if they should join this club or what classes to register for next year, they reply they need to talk to you first.
 
If they are performing at a speech tournament or acting in the play, they scan the audience for you.
 
When it’s parent-teacher conference time, they want to know what I’m going to say because they genuinely care about what you think. They want to look good to you.
 
And I could roll out a thousand more examples.
 
Parents.

Connect with your big kids with these 200+ ideas.

I know this stage can be wonderful but then also excruciatingly hard. Teens can push boundaries, act unreasonably, and showcase apathy. They can walk through the doors after a long day and completely fall apart making you feel like they took everything out on you because your place is at the bottom of their totem pole.

But, in those challenging moments, moms and dads, you must remember this one truth: you are the most important people in their lives.
 
They want you.
 
Over and over and over again.
 
More than anything else. Their phones, even, I promise.
 
I’m 100% sure of it.
 
It’s what I see every single day when I work with your kids at school.
 
Parents are everything to their big kids.
 

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