Flowers, sunshine, new beginnings, all that stuff! Okay, if you’re a true Floridian you know it doesn’t really mean much as far as weather is concerned (except for that pollen on everything). But it is a time when most people think about a fresh start at something.
WHAT A BETTER TIME TO RECONNECT WITH YOUR TEEN?
Let’s face it, our lives are crazy busy…We don’t just work full time jobs, we raise kids. That means we are taxi drivers, nurses, cooks, maids, secretaries, CEOs, vacation planners, personal shoppers, teachers, party planners, you name it, and in return we get eye rolls from our teens on the regular, and maybe, if we are lucky, we get a thank you every now and then. After all of that, we still admit that we would do it all over again for these precious people in our lives.
So, why does it seem so hard to communicate with our teens? Well, as crazy as our lives are….so are theirs. They are navigating through hormones, figuring out who they are, having a ton of more responsibility then ever before in their lives, building relationships, wanting more independence but not being quite ready for it, and there’s…
SO MUCH PRESSURE…
Pressure to fit in, pressure to get good grades, pressure to figure out some of the biggest decisions of their lives when it comes to college, pressure to get into college, pressure to get a job, pressure to start paying bills, pressure to please everyone…. pressure to do drugs.
YA, I SAID IT…
Drugs are out there, and if you think your child won’t ever see this kind of pressure, your wrong.
We can’t hold their hand all day anymore, although maybe we miss that sometimes. What we can do though, is arm them with the truth about drugs and alcohol and how it can affect them.
BUT FIRST…
…we must connect to them. See, we can lecture them every single day of their lives, but if we aren’t connecting to them, does it really get through?
Teens may not want to spend every waking moment with their parents anymore, but they still like doing fun things. So, start by having some fun and then give them the tools they need to handle the pressures they face. Here is a list of 25 ideas on ways to have some fun with teens:
- Bake something together
- Play sports together
- Go outside, head to a park or beach
- Try out an escape room
- Play a board game
- Movies and popcorn at home – even better if you can do this outside
- Go fishing
- Go for a walk/bike ride
- Go to the mall
- Go to the movies
- Go out to eat
- Have a picnic
- Go swimming
- Go shopping
- Do crafts/paint
- Decorate for holidays
- Plan a getaway together
- Go ice skating/Roller blading
- Go camping
- Go hiking
- Try geocaching
- Volunteer
- Learn a new skill
- Learn a new language
- Plant a garden
For more information on talking to your teens about drugs and alcohol, visit us online at www.drugfreecharlottecounty.org, or check us out on social media: FB – Drug Free Charlotte County, Twitter – @DFCCTweets, Instagram – drugfreecharlottecounty
By Jen Bernardi, Prevention Program Coordinator, Drug Free Charlotte County