“Mom, dad you’re not listening to me” ..”You don’t get it”… “You don’t understand me”.. “things are not the same as when you were younger”. Do these phrases sound familiar? Yep I’m sure they do. This is the sound of every beckoning cry when you’re talking with your teenager “you just don’t understand me you never let me talk”. Guess what parents, in most cases they are right. This day and age is not the same as your youthful days. Nowadays we have social media galore, this is the age of information at your finger tips, microwave solutions, fake it till you make mantras, peer pressure and so much more. Designers now make young women’s clothes as if there is a shortage on fabric, times have changed mom and dad. Mom dad, it’s time to listen to what your young person is trying to communicate. This generation wants and needs to be heard, listen with the intent to understand not respond. Take your teen to a sit down dinner, just get somewhere quiet and comfortable. Open the lines of communication not a dictatorship because they will not respond to you, they will shut down and rebel harder and longer. Allow them to express themselves (respectfully of course) without feeling they have no identity or common sense. There are gifts and talents in your young person that you may or may not recognize. Those gifts and talents need to be nurtured, encouraged and protected, even if you don’t understand their choices it’s their choice. Help them blossom into their God-given talents by loosening the chains and listening to what they have to say. Surprisingly enough they are much more receptive when they feel they have a voice.
Hands Off, Inc 