Get Into Your Teen’s World

Get Into Your Teen’s World

Parents have somehow been convinced that because their teenager’s and kids in general need their own time to themselves… that they’re in their own world… that we can’t understand or don’t belong in that world.
 
Society and “the powers that be” convinced us of this through movies, TV shows, and more.
 
Our kids convinced us of this because, as they got older since childhood, they expressed feeling misunderstood and demanded to be left alone… and some of us gave them what they asked for. We gave them more than a little space. WE LET GO.

AND I DISAGREE WITH ALL OF THIS.
 
You need to get into your kid’s world.
 
You need to understand the apps they’re using, the games they’re playing, the music they listen to, the circles they’re hanging in and the friends they’re around. HEAR THEM when they speak and give them space to do so. Be heard when it’s your turn to speak, and show them you “get it” as you share your thoughts, ideas and views. Be honest, yes… but also speak to be heard (watch your words and your message, and don’t LOSE IT due to frustration).
 
DON’T LET YOUR KID FEEL ALONE… even if they insist they are alone or that “you don’t understand!” Show them that you are there, you are interested in their world, and you “get it” (as much as you can).

We’ve all been teenagers before. Every single one of us. Many of us likely felt exactly the same way teens do now. And what was or would have been awesome when we were teens? Having the adults we respected and appreciated most deep down FORCE THEMSELVES INTO OUR WORLD and not let us alienate them (and therefore alienate ourselves).
 
Because guess what? (And you’ve likely discovered this already…) >>> Those kids will have SOMEONE get into their world and influence their hearts, minds and spirits!!! <<<
 
Someone will. Shouldn’t it be you? Shouldn’t you at least be a big part of influencing them in these critical years of personal growth and self-discovery and development? YOU: Their parent. Their protector. Their guide. Their caretaker. Their best example (whether you think they’re watching or not… THEY ARE).
 
If you stay out of their world, you WILL understand them less and less, and they WILL have someone or something else fill that void and that need. Because we all want to be understood by someone, and we all want to belong. A parent who stays in the picture and cares enough to be PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING while LEADING and BEING AN EXAMPLE (you are a positive example, right)… THAT’S WHAT EVERY TEEN NEEDS.
 
So please stay involved. Do them and yourself a favor. Do the world a favor. Understand your kid’s world as best as you can. Don’t lose them to social media and A.I. and other “misunderstood” kids around them and movies and music and so on.
 
GET INTO THEIR WORLD. And continue to be their rock… whether they like it or not.
 
 

– Bobby Vincench, founder of Free Minds Thrive and creator of Homeschooler House