Talking To Teens: Expert Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Susan Groner, founder of the Parenting Mentor, shares her wisdom and parenting “hacks” with us. Discover my favorite tips from Susan’s latest book Parenting: 101 Ways to Rock Your World, and Susan’s #1 reason why fights break out between parents and teens. Plus, what to say instead of “Because I said so.”



Full show notes

What kind of support do you need as a parent? When you pick up a parenting book, what are you hoping to find?

That doesn’t sound like too much to ask for, but how often do we pick up a parenting book only to put it down, thinking…

Being a parent is hard work! Parents should have the kind of support they need, when they need it. That’s why I sought out the opportunity to talk to the amazing parenting mentor, Susan Groner.

Susan Groner is the mother of three grown children. Though, when she was in the throes of motherhood, she felt overwhelmed by the challenges. She didn’t find parenting books helpful at all. She thought there had to be some creative parenting hacks to help her through the tough and joyful times of parenting.

Eventually, she developed her trademark CLEARR™ method and founded The Parenting Mentor. The Parenting Mentor is a website where she provides coaching for parents of children of all ages. Plus, her techniques are easily applicable and build off of what you’re already doing! Needless to say, I was thrilled to talk to her about her new parenting book, Parenting: 101 Ways to Rock Your World.

Susan’s Parenting 101 has been dubbed the “parenting book for parents who don’t have time for parenting books.” This is completely by design.

When Susan was asked to write her book, she knew immediately that she didn’t want to write a traditional parenting book. Those were never helpful for her, so she wasn’t going to just play along.

She wanted a book that was designed for parents to pick up, read for two minutes, and put down.

She wanted a list of quick creative parenting hacks to uplift parents and to remind them they're already doing a lot of stuff right!

Like any job, you’re probably going to do better work when you’re feeling confident and competent. This is why parents should feel good about what they’re doing! Raising another human being is a hard enough job description. The additional stress and anxiety that parents go through because they don’t feel good enough is unnecessary. Susan doesn’t want parents to feel angst, especially when there are creative parenting hacks that can help.

So what are some of these creative parenting hacks?

All of Susan’s creative parenting hacks come down to one acronym: CLEARR™

How we talk to our teenagers is so important.

If a teen hates a rule in your house, it’s important to understand why. Even when you do feel strongly about a rule, Susan says that your response shouldn’t be: “Because I said so!” That’s just laying down the law. That’s a fight waiting to happen.

Instead of laying down the law, Susan suggests you respond: “Let’s talk about that.”

You want to know why your teen thinks a rule stinks, and then clarify why the rule is still important. A conversation with love and respect, where your tone of voice is kind, loving, and empathetic will go much better than a shouting match. You’ll be amazed by how quickly a simple change in your response can diffuse your teen’s frustration. Susan’s creative parenting hacks pretty much all revolve around this.

We didn’t have time to go through all 101 of Susan’s creative parenting hacks, but we did get to touch on a handful. For example, #5 from her book is titled “Timing, Manner, and Intonation.” These are three factors you can leverage when talking to your teen about tough topics.

Susan breaks them down really easily. Think about timing. When do you want to have a tough conversation with your teen? You probably don’t want to talk about their friends’ smoking habits while you’re also pressed for a deadline at work. So what are the creative parenting hacks for having this hard conversation? Susan offers several suggestions.

Create a time to set aside. Schedule a time to go for a walk, or have a cup of tea together. If you both like gardening, do some yard work. Anything that relaxes both you and your teen. Once that is scheduled, you’ll be able to approach the topic with an easier manner and intonation.

The language you choose, and the tone in which you say it, is so important when communicating with teens. Teens do NOT want to hear judgment at all. So using nonjudgmental language and a kind tone is a priority. You can be firm on your family’s values without bashing the behaviors of your teen and their friend group. As long as your words and tone indicate that you’re not mad at your teen, but empathetic and loving, it’s likely they will listen and be responsive.

Even with our best efforts, though, it’s hard to be perfect. What do you do when your teen does get angry about something?

Susan thinks that a lot of reasons why fights in the house start are because of unintentional judgmental comments.

For example, let’s say your teen comes home from school and slams the door. WHAM! Your kid is obviously pissed about something. Still, most of our gut responses to the dramatic entrance might be:

You can imagine how your teenager might respond before marching off to his or her room and slamming their door again.

Susan says that sometimes teens just want to be heard. So you want to use words that show you see they’re upset, and that you want to be there for them. You might say:

You’re not going to fix whatever happened or promise to make it better, but you can listen and be empathetic. Maybe a teacher disciplined them. Again, our gut response might be to say:

That’s a surefire way to make your teen defensive, though. Those words make it sound like whatever happened was the teen’s fault. Even if it was, their teacher already disciplined them. If your teen needed more scolding, you probably would’ve gotten an email from the teacher. Susan states that the most effective creative parenting hacks needed for this situation are comfort and understanding. For now, just a little validation and love is what your teen needs. Sometimes, you don’t even need to respond to your teen! Just make sure they know you hear them.

Susan says that if you can adjust your response to teenage explosions, it will make a huge difference in your relationship. Sometimes the best of the creative parenting hacks is just hanging out with them in silence for a little bit.

Helping parents with easy and concise creative parenting hacks is what Susan does best. There are so many problems parents have to solve every day, and the good news is that you’re probably already doing a great job! I addition to creative parenting hacks, Susan shares her views on:

Susan is so generous with her wisdom. She has so many creative parenting hacks to share. Be sure to check this episode out!

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