For many parents, it’s harder to bond with their teens than it was to bond with their toddlers. During this time of childhood, your child may be pushing you away, becoming rebellious, and fighting for independence. These are all normal behaviors during adolescence.
The teen years are full of hormonal fluctuations, limit testing, and talking back. While not every teen experiences these emotions and behaviors in the same way, they’re all going to have some sort of signs of these symptoms.
This is the stage where your child is still a child but is nearing an adult. The child knows this and so their inner being is screaming for freedom all the while still requiring guidance from their parents. Today we’re going to share some tips to help you bond with your teen, no matter how unruly they may get.
Have a Weekly Outing
One of the most creative ways to bond with your teen is to have a weekly outing. If your teen is an active outdoor teenager, then they’ll enjoy having some quality time with you out on nature trails, bicycle trails, or the local skate park. This will give you a chance to learn more about what they like doing while you engage in random conversations.
Go to a Concert
When things start to open up in your area, you could attend a concert together. Have your teen choose a few of their favorite bands that have upcoming concerts. This will allow you to surprise them with tickets to at least one of their concert choices. Enjoy an evening out experiencing your teen’s favorite tunes while you bond enjoying an entertaining activity.
Work Together
Perhaps you have a work project that you can bring home to work on while your teen does their homework. Sitting to work on your project at home while your teen does their homework may not sound like “bonding” but it actually is. Your teen will notice that you’re sitting there working on something beside them and feel more included in the household.
Eat a Meal Together
Try to enforce a rule in the home that everyone must eat a meal together at least once per day. If once per day is too much for your schedules, try to plan one night per week where you all gather in the dining room to enjoy a meal together. This will help strengthen your bond while giving the whole family time to reconnect amidst chaotic schedules.
Sit With Them
If all else fails, why not just go and sit with your teen as their playing their favorite video game or doing something they enjoy. You can have a seat and just engage in random banter while they’re playing a game or doing something they enjoy. Just being present in this moment will encourage them to engage in a conversation with you and help strengthen the bond between you.
Each of these creative ways to bond with your teen will encourage you to have conversations without the pressure of prying too much. You’ll soon find that your relationship with your teen child grows and becomes stronger as each week passes.