I thought I handled it right

A few minutes after you give your teenager a consequence, you’re standing in the kitchen thinking,

That felt right when I said it… but now it feels really, really wrong.

Not because you handled it badly.
But because you’re starting to sense that what you did didn’t actually help, or change anything.
And that there might be a different way—one that doesn’t leave you second-guessing yourself an hour later.

When you’re not sure whether what you’re doing is actually helping, you start changing how you respond—your tone, your words, your strictness—instead of understanding why they’re acting this way in the first place.

So you explain more, hoping the right words will finally land.
Or you come down harder, because you’re tired of having the same conversation.
Or you avoid it altogether, because you don’t have the energy to get it wrong again.

Not because you don’t care.
But because you’re trying to find the version of yourself that finally makes this work.

What changes the dynamic isn’t saying it better or enforcing it harder.

It’s slowing the conversation down enough to get curious, to understand what your teen is thinking or feeling before the behavior shows up.

It’s easy to miss that moment.

But it’s what takes the conversation in a whole new direction.
And their motivation follows.

The hard part is recognizing that moment when you’re in it, when your heart is racing, and you can feel yourself about to lecture, clamp down, or shut the conversation down altogether.

That’s what we work on in the calls I do with parents.
Not theory. The actual shifts that change what happens next.

And if part of you is thinking, I’ve already tried staying calm, being firm, explaining more, giving space, and I’m still not sure, that makes sense.

Most of the parents I work with are thoughtful, capable, and deeply invested.
They’re not missing effort.

They’re missing a clear read on what’s actually happening in those moments, and that’s not something we were ever shown how to do.

Most parents come to the call saying something like, “I don’t know what to do or say that actually helps.”

On the call, we slow the moment down together.
We look at what’s really going on, why they’re acting this way, and why your current responses haven’t shifted it.

We walk through a real situation from your house, the one that keeps coming up, and I help you see where the conversation is going off track, and where a different response would change what happens next.

That’s when things start to make sense.

If you’re feeling stuck, unsure, or quietly questioning yourself, this is a place to talk it through.

You don’t need the right words.
You don’t need a plan.

The goal of the call is simple: to help you understand what’s actually driving this, so you can decide what makes sense for you and your child.

👉 You can book a complimentary Parenting Breakthrough Call here.

No pressure. No fixing.
Just clarity, perspective, and a steadier place to move forward from.

🧡 Jeanine