Have Side-by-side Conversations

Look away. We mean, literally, look somewhere other than your teen’s face when you’re trying to talk with them. Some teens get uncomfortable when you’re staring directly into their eyes and they clam up. Bring them back out of their shell by holding conversations in places where you don’t need to look at one another: Talk in the car (and keep your eyes on the road!), hold conversations at bedtime after lights out, or head outside together and take a walk. Talking side-by-side may help the conversation flow when the words aren’t coming face-to-face.

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