"Send Ben a text"
One of the biggest fears parents have about giving their teen more of a voice is this:
“What if he thinks he’s in charge?”
Maybe you’ve tried to compromise before.
You gave him an inch, and he tried to take a mile.
So now it feels safer to just make the rule, hold the line, and expect him to obey.
But there’s a problem with that.
When every boundary becomes about getting your teen to do what you want, you can quickly end up reminding, nagging, threatening, arguing, or giving in.
There’s another way.
In this episode, I’ll show you how to give your teen a voice without giving away your authority as the parent.
You’ll learn:
- The difference between giving in and getting buy-in
- Why listening to your teen doesn’t mean agreeing with him
- How to stop treating your teen like the problem
- Why curiosity can work better than punishment
- How to create agreements with your teen instead of only for him
- Why your teen can disagree with your boundary and you can still hold it
I’ll also share two real stories from my own parenting experience.
One is about a foster teen who wanted a cell phone so badly that he suggested a consequence that was way too harsh.
The other is about finding out my own kids were secretly using Snapchat after I had told them not to.
Both stories taught me the same lesson:
Your teen doesn’t need the final say.
But he does need a voice.
And when you stop trying to control everything and start solving problems together, you give your teen a chance to build more responsibility, ownership, and trust.
If boundaries in your home keep turning into battles, I’m teaching a free live workshop called:
3 Reasons Your Boundaries Keep Turning Into Battles—and What to Do Instead
Register at:
benpughcoaching.com/freeboundariesworkshop
Are You Caught in the Parent Trap?
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Take this quick (and eye-opening) quiz to uncover which common parenting trap you’re falling into with your teen.
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https://benpughcoaching.com/parent-trap-quiz
