What is my teen going to do this summer?
Summer is here.
Are you panicking about all the downtime your teen will have?
If you are, you are not alone!
The thought of them waking up at noon and spending the day on their screens—gaming or scrolling Tik Tok—just makes your blood boil.
You can’t resist saying, “What’s your plan for the summer?” “You can’t just sit around and do nothing!”
You might get a shrug and hear, “I don’t know.” or, “Mom, lay off me!”
You offer suggestions to motivate them.
They get annoyed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out” or “I’ve got it!”
Your heart pounds anticipating conflict and tension for the next few months.
If this is happening in your house, try this:
Calmly ask your teen, “What would you like to do this summer?” (There is a possibility that you can live with their answer. Boom! Problem solved!)
They might say a snarky response like, “Play video games all day.”
Stay calm and acknowledge their desire, “Video games are sure fun to play.” Then ask, “What else do you enjoy doing?”
If they push you off, agree to a specific time that they will have an answer.
If their answer is unreasonable, share your ideal outcome and try to find some middle ground.
Be patient. (This is hard.)
When you use this communication model, a calm and collaborative conversation emerges.
Once you’ve established connection, cooperation will follow.
Set an intention to create it.
Your Coach,
Jeanine
P.S. If you want to know the exact steps to have cooperation and connection with your teen so you can enjoy summer, I can help you. Click HERE and let’s get started.
P.P.S. If you want to dive deeper and engage with me, head on over to Instagram.
