The Joys of Teenagers

Okay, everyone!  It's Friday(hooray:)!  And another full day for me...but, in reality, what day isn't?

I'm joining in with 5 Minute Friday again!  Today's word is:

Voice

Talking to teenagers/young adults is a true challenge.  They are growing up and ready to start stepping out and making some of their own decisions and taking on more responsibility.  But they don't always have the best judgement.  When you try to help them correct their judgement, it seems to turn into a battle of wills and "You don't trust me" type comments.  Sometimes, for both parents and teens, it's so hard to truly "hear" what's being said!

We had a recent encounter over an issue that we felt was unsafe but Mike's opinion differed.  There was quite a bit of strife over it all.

One of the biggest struggles was how to use our voice in a way that would help him to understand where we were coming from and not just turn into a yelling match that had the possibility of developing family riffs!

In the end, Jay's calmness and honesty was able to break through Mike's previous porcupine demeanor.  It was a moment of grace from prayer and the Holy Spirit!  Previous exchanges about the subject always ended with hurt feelings and frustration for all of us.

It is hard to find the line between when to stand firm on what we think about a given situation and when it's time to give in and compromise as kids become young adults.  Definitely one of those difficult parenting moments for sure!