How to get your teenager to trust and talk to you?

how to talk to your teenager

Teenagers have a cocoon of their own. It can be a challenge for your teenage child to open up and even more so for you to get them to trust and talk to you. If you are facing something similar, then here are our top 5 tips for how you can make a teenager trust to speak to you.

Hear them out

Listen first. Hear out what your teenager has to say. As a parent, you are entitled to have an opinion but it isn’t always advisable to rub it on your child’s face all the time. 

They have their own logic of doing things that might be starkly different from yours. However, don’t contradict them in the first instance. Hear them out before reacting. 

Validate their feelings 

Always make your teenager feel that their feelings are important. You might find little sense in what they are feeling, but understand that the emotions of a teenager mean the world to them. Hence, to make them open up to you, always validate their feelings.

teenager trouble

Spend time together

Your teenager will not magically open up and start talking about their emotions to you in a single day. It takes time and bonding to do that. Do things together, go to movies, or do outdoor activities with them. Playing indoor board games counts too. Build a solid bond to make them want to share their feelings.

Keep your teenager’s secrets 

It takes a lot of time to earn a teenager’s trust, and you can lose it in a matter of moments. If they ever share a secret with you, keep it. This is how you earn points with them. If you keep their secrets, they will think of you more like a friend and open up even more with you.

Never punish your teenager for being honest

Most importantly, if your teenage child admits to doing something wrong, never punish them. Guide, counsel, and chat with them. Blend that friend factor with your parenting skill so that they can trust and talk to you.