12 tips to help parents of teens during the holidays (or any extended school breaks and increased family time)
Things I have learned the hard way about helping to create peaceful, stress-free, enjoyable holiday breaks with teens and young adults
Extended time at home, weekends, etc., can be fun—but they can pose unique challenges for adolescents
Extended family time is wonderful! It can also be tricky for kids, particularly young teens. With the winter holidays upon us, it is good to remember that children of all ages have unique developmental needs that might pose challenges for parents, but in my experience, this is especially true for teens, who can seem very moody and temperamental over breaks from school. Less structure and increased free time and family proximity can provide some significant potential challenges for teens and pitfalls for parents.
It is worth thinking through some of these potential pitfalls, places where things can go wrong during these times. Parents—particularly those with adolescent children—can take some simple steps to make these times happier and more successful.
I learned most of this the hard way. While I have memories of happy, meaningful family times, there were plenty of very unpleasant interactions, times when my attempts to connect with my children (or my parents to connect with me) ended badly. As a door slammed down the hall and angry mutters or yells filled the house, my wife and I would look at each other with wide-eyed wonder. “What just happened?”
Having learned a lot the hard way, here are 12 of the things I have learned to keep in mind when you have teens over extended school breaks.