Your teen wants your help

Your teenager tells you something went wrong, and you can already see three really good things they could do about it.

So you tell them.

Except now your perfectly good ideas keep getting:
“That’s dumb.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Mom! Stop!”

So you think of another one.
Maybe that idea wasn’t right.
But this one will help.

You’ve been doing this for years.

They forgot their lunch.
You brought it.

They didn’t understand a math problem.
You showed them.

Their friend was mean.
You helped them figure out what to do.

This is how you helped.
And it worked.

But now your teenager comes home feeling awful, you give them your best idea, and somehow they’re annoyed with you.

Maybe they did come to you because they wanted your help.

Maybe they just weren’t finished telling you what happened.

When you say:
“You should talk to her.”
But she was still trying to tell you:
“She used to be my best friend.”

Or when you say:
“Ask if you can retake it.”
But he was still trying to tell you:
“I studied for three hours. I really thought I knew it.”

Those are the things you don’t want to miss.

And there’s nothing better than hearing:
“Mom, guess what happened today.”

If you’re thinking, Okay, so how am I supposed to help when she tells me something went wrong? that’s exactly what we can figure out on a Parenting Breakthrough Call.

We’ll look at what happens in those moments and what you can say so your teenager keeps coming to you when something goes wrong.

🧡 Jeanine