Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is
Create and enjoy your holiday rituals >>Listen

Rituals connect us to our roots. They link us to memories, and help us to organize and appreciate our personal world. Teenagers love rituals. They may not always make that clear, sometimes you just need to believe it on faith.

What Thanksgiving rituals do you enjoy? Perhaps your teenager always helps you decorate the table for Thanksgiving dinner; or you play a particular word game on the drive to Nana’s house for your family feast. Maybe you always have a special breakfast on Thanksgiving morning before the big football game. These are the memories that will anchor your child to family as she grows and has her own. These rituals are often connected to our smells and feelings, and made deeper by the utilization of all of our senses.

We are entering the official beginning of the holiday season, and it’s a good time to tune into the rituals you have developed in your home. Talk about them. Ask your teenager to tell you which are his or her favorite rituals. You may be surprised that little things that you didn’t pay much attention to are actually really important to your teen. Ask each member of your family to identify one important ritual that you all make sure you adhere to in this upcoming holiday season.

In my house, my daughter started a ritual in making those yummy peanut butter cookies with the Hershey’s kiss in the middle; and the peppermint bark is another decadent favorite. We won’t put our Christmas tree up for several more weeks, and when we do, you can be certain Nat King Cole will be singing from our stereo. Have you taken the family picture yet for your Christmas cards? As you pull out your holiday decorations and hang the wreath on the door, take the time to appreciate these actions and to imagine your teenager doing the exact same thing when you’re the grandparent visiting your grandchildren for the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Til next time…I'm Sue Blaney.