My tip this week is to
Make a deposit in your teen’s emotional bank account >>Listen

Here’s a concept that is powerful in its ability to direct your behavior in ways that enhance your relationship with your teenager. Are you familiar with the “emotional bank account?” This refers to the amount of trust that is developed between two people. You make a deposit in your daughter’s emotional bank account when you share pleasant time together and when you express thoughtfulness, kindness, courtesy, honesty and sensitivity to her feelings. You make withdrawals from her account by overreacting, treating her with disrespect, ignoring her, betraying her trust.

Using this method helps you focus on your relationship and keep communication open – which is how you’ll provide the guidance and support that you want to provide. Make deposits any way that you can, and you will reap the rewards of a solid relationship.

Again – how do you make deposits? It can be the littlest things: biting your tongue when he does something wrong, picking him up from school and offering a quick trip thru McDonalds because you know he’s starving, bringing a cup of hot chocolate to her while she is studying for her math test, staying up late to listen without judgment about her latest troubles with her friend. Even a well-timed smile.

As you face difficulties with your teen, and this is bound to happen, your ability to weather the storms together will be directly impacted by the amount of value that has been built up in the emotional bank account you share. And you have to know, you can’t make withdrawals from an empty account without negatively impacting your relationship. So focus on building it up – and watch your relationship blossom.

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Teens…….

Til next time…I'm Sue Blaney