She worried rules would push him away

A mom told me she was exhausted from the phone battles.

She’d say, “Time to get off.”
He’d roll his eyes, snap back, or just… ignore her.

Sometimes she’d explode.
Other times, she’d just give up.
Not because it felt right—just because she didn’t have the energy to fight.

She told me, “I’m afraid I’m making it worse. That I’m ruining our relationship by trying to do the right thing.”

I’ve been there too.
Staring at my kid, glued to a screen, wondering if I should say something or just... not.

She wasn’t afraid of being the bad guy.
She was afraid of being shut out.

But here’s what changed:

She stopped tiptoeing.
She started saying what she meant—and meaning it—without yelling, without chasing, without becoming the phone police.

It wasn’t magic.
The first few times she held steady, he still stormed off.
But something was different.

She felt different.
Grounded. Clear. Like she could breathe again.
No more negotiating. No more second-guessing herself after every interaction.

And over time, he didn’t storm off as often.
Sometimes, he even put the phone down before she asked.

It’s not the rule itself that causes the battle.
It’s how we hold it.

You don’t need to control every moment.
But you can lead with calm, clear strength—
and still be someone your teen wants to come back to.

Not just when they need something, but when they want to share something.

🧡 Jeanine