Is this why your teen’s pulling away?
Remember when your little one looked up at you with pure wonder?
When your child was small, you naturally made all the decisions: who they played with, what they ate, when they went to bed.
Watching them discover the world was magical.
They’d curl up in your arms when you helped them.
You felt completely adored.
But now? Everything’s changed.
The parenting approach that worked beautifully for a decade suddenly feels like you’ve been assigned to patrol duty.
You’ve somehow become the household police officer no one asked for — least of all you.
You find yourself yelling to get them in the car so they’re not late for school.
Nagging them to put down their phone.
Reminding them (again) that it’s their night to do the dishes.
I remember those feelings so clearly — the creeping annoyance, the deep frustration, and yes, even the flashes of anger that left me feeling guilty afterward.
Here’s one simple shift that helped me stop the power struggles — and start feeling close to my teen again.
👉 Draw a circle on a piece of paper.
Imagine that circle as your personal sphere of influence.
Inside that circle? The things you can actually control —
✅ your thoughts, your reactions, the boundaries you set with love.
Outside?
❌ their moods, their thoughts, their feelings, and whether or not they choose to engage.
Now comes the hard part — and the most freeing:
Let everything outside the circle melt away.
When you focus only on what’s truly yours to manage, something remarkable happens.
The power struggles start to fade.
The connection gets stronger.
And slowly, that feeling of being adored begins to return — not just because they need you, but because they trust you.
❤️ Jeanine
P.S. If this hit home for you, and you’re ready to stop parenting from frustration — and start parenting from connection — I’d love to help.
There’s no pressure on this call. No fixing. No judgment.
Just a real conversation about what’s hard… what matters most to you… and what’s possible from here.
Sometimes just saying it out loud to someone who gets it is the first moment of relief.
Let’s find your way forward — together.
