Find My Friends isn't the problem
A client said something to me recently that I know you'll recognize.
"I checked Find My Friends. She wasn't where I thought she'd be. I think she's lying."
I asked her,
"How do you know she's lying?"
"She said she was going to Ashley's."
"Okay... but what do you actually know?"
She stopped for a second.
"I guess... I don't."
She knew where her daughter was.
She just didn't know why she was there.
Maybe plans had changed.
Maybe she'd forgotten to text.
Or maybe she had lied.
She simply didn't know yet.
She got one new piece of information...
and her mind immediately filled in everything else.
I know I've done the exact same thing.
This is where we slow everything down in coaching.
We stayed with what we knew...
instead of filling in what we didn't.
The truth is, this happens in all kinds of parenting moments.
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do as parents is be uncomfortable for a minute.
Long enough to find out what actually happened...
before deciding something was wrong.
Not because nothing could be wrong.
Sometimes something is.
But if your teenager really was lying...
you'd be responding to what actually happened.
Not what you imagined.
Otherwise, over time, your teenager begins to feel that your first instinct is to jump to a conclusion instead of understand them.
I think that's one of the biggest challenges of parenting today.
Technology gives us more information than ever before.
But it doesn't always tell us what's actually going on.
If you've ever caught yourself jumping from "I don't like this" to "I know exactly what happened," that's the kind of moment we can slow down together on a Parenting Breakthrough Call.
We'll look at what's really happening, what's still unknown, and how to respond in a way that helps you trust both your teenager and yourself.
🧡 Jeanine
