One morning traveling in to the office in the last month, I noticed in the rear view mirror a teen girl riding (likely to school) with her dad. A pretty common scene, right?
The dad appeared lost in thought -- thoughts about work, thoughts about money, and so on. The teen did her part, too -- the daze created by her iPod playlist with earphones cemented in place.
The traffic moved in such a manner that over the next four or five minutes I was able to periodically check in on my parent-student test case for communication.
Still silence.
My thought (probably rooted in being a dad myself) was, "Why doesn't he say something? Why doesn't he try to connect?"
The traffic shifted and my observation group was gone. I yearned for them to communicate. I hungered for them to connect. Why is it so hard for parents and teens to talk? Does it have to be that way?
The traffic shifted and my observation group was gone. I yearned for them to communicate. I hungered for them to connect. Why is it so hard for parents and teens to talk? Does it have to be that way?
A resource that I've found helpful is "How to Get Your Teen to Talk to You"
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/search?author=Kent%20Julian&detailed_search=1&action=Search
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/search?author=Kent%20Julian&detailed_search=1&action=Search
How do you engage in effective communication?
~ Jason
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