How to Remain Close to Your Teenage Children
It’s inevitable that when your children turn into teenagers, they will want to spend more time with their friends. The things that used to excite them when they were little will no longer have the same effect on them now that they are older.
Even if it’s hot outside and you just had the air compressor air dryer fixed to make your HVAC work properly, your teens might still brave the blazing sun just to bond with their friends. So, how do you fix a situation like this? How do you ask your teenage kids to spend more time with you?
Give them space
This might sound counter-productive to your plan to spend more time with them, but it’s necessary if you want them to grow into well-adjusted adults. Teenagers need space to grow and learn as individuals.
Also, smothering them with attention could only push them farther away from you. Yes, you’ll never get tired of showing affection for your children, but you need to understand that they are also trying to build their own reputation with their peers as they grow older.
It stings to see your kids try to evade your kisses after you’ve driven them to school. It even hurts more when they ask you to drop them off a block away from school. But, try to remember that they are not doing this to hurt you. Instead, teenagers are just eager to be viewed as adults, particularly as independent individuals.
But remember, too, that children will always long for their parents’ love and affection. So, even if you give them space, eventually, they will turn around and ask you to spend time with them. Kids will always long for your affection, but only when you don’t smother them.
Find an alternative
Just because your teenage children no longer want you to be too affectionate out on the streets, it doesn’t mean you have to stop showing them how much you love them. You can always find alternative ways to show your affection for your kids.
If they don’t like it when you kiss them on the cheek before they get out of the car and into the school, then plant one before you leave the house instead. If they seem to resist your hugs more and more, lightly caress their backs as an alternative.
Find a common ground
You can always bond with your children as long as you find a common ground for both of you to feel comfortable with each other. For example, your teenage kids may love binge-watching the latest young adult series on Netflix. Try to join them in this endeavour.
Microwave some popcorn, make sure your HVAC is on full blast to make your living room as comfortable as possible, plop right next to them on the couch, and binge-watch ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’.
It may be hard to accept the fact that your children, now that they are teenagers, don’t want your company as much as they did when they were younger. But, you can still be part of their lives by letting them know that you’ll always be there for them, no matter what.
