When they keep pushing you away

When your teenager seems annoyed just because you walked into the room, it hurts.

And after enough eye rolls, closed doors, and “Mom, stop,” you think,

Do they even like me?

So you back off.
You ask fewer questions.
You stop sitting down next to them.

Maybe I should just give them some space.

And I get why.

It hurts to feel like your own kid doesn’t like you.

But I think this is the part we miss.

They may be pushing away your advice.
Your reminders.
Your questions.
Your attempts to make it better.

That isn’t necessarily the same as pushing you away.

They still need you when they get left out of their friends’ plans.
Or when they have no idea what to do about the class they’re failing.
Or when their coach yells at them in front of the whole team.

They just don’t need you to fix it for them.
Or tell them what they should do.
Or remind them of the three things you told them last week that would have prevented the whole problem.

Sometimes they just need to tell you what happened without worrying that you’re going to freak out.
And then talk it through with you so they can figure out what they want to do.

They still need you.
They just need you differently now.

And when you keep backing off because you think that’s what they want, little by little, there are fewer conversations.

Less time together.

Not because they stopped needing you.

But because you thought they did.

If you’re not sure when to step in, when to step back, or how to stay close when your teenager seems to want space, let’s talk.

On a Parenting Breakthrough Call, we’ll look at the moments when your teenager pushes you away and figure out what they may actually need from you instead.

So you'll know what to do the next time you hear, “Mom, stop.”

🧡 Jeanine