TODAYS

You don’t need to walk alone.

Raising Family: Active listening with our teenagers.

The clock strikes 3:15 pm and schools over for my teenagers. As soon as they enter our car, the chatters begin, and it always starts with each one giving us an update of school that day. It is not all the time good and great, there are times of challenges regarding friendships and studies, but we learn not to comment or judge but to be a good listener and to ask the right questions that encourage them to share deeper. We want them to know that we are interested in them as a person and in their life. Major issues usually continue during dinner or just before bedtime. I find it wholesome when the discussion is open to the family, and each one shares a solution or adds value. Proverbs 11:4 (KJV) “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” This lifestyle did not happen overnight but through the nurturing process. Here are three tips you might want to adopt in your family:

  1. Create a safe environment for your teenagers to share about their lives. Be a good listener and show interest in them rather than being judgemental.
  2. Ask the right questions that will encourage them to discover more about themselves and their actions.
  3. Steer them in the right direction with words of wisdom and through the impartation of ethical values.

I hope these simple steps will encourage you to enjoy spending quality time with your family through open discussions.

We want them to know that we are interested in them as a person and in their life.

Total Page Visits: 3124 - Today Page Visits: 6