Having had a few years under my belt as the parent of a teenager I can say with all certainty that parenting a teenager is basically as involved–perhaps even more so- as the parenting of a toddler or tween… Hence I felt like I needed to share my thoughts with my 5 Ways for Parents to Bridge the Gap with their Teenagers.

Now these almost adults are out in the world – and there is just an overload of information coming at them- that as parents- it's really up to us to help them wade through it– but our biggest obstacle– them!

These teenagers who refuse to give us more than one-word answers and “would die!” if we hung out with them at the Mall with their friends…even if we sat at a table across the room at the new food court!

So what's a parent to do, knowing that they still have to parent their teenager- and be there for her/him- even when she implores them to “GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”–this quote comes directly from “a friend of mine” whose daughter just barked this statement at her!

Well- here are some words of encouragement because while there are 800 billion articles about how to tune into your toddlers they are not half as many about how to deal with your teenagers!

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5 Ways for Parents to Bridge the Gap with their Teenagers

— Read the same books.

One great suggestion is the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. These 4 books are page turners, extremely well done, with a well-handled supernatural element. I guarantee you and your teenage daughter will both enjoy them. Then, you can see the movie of Twilight together. (Your daughter will probably go with friends, but will want to see it more than once, is my guess.)

—Find an activity that you like to do together.

Does your teen like cars? One father I know bought a 1969 Mustang, and then he and his teenage son spend several years restoring it. This was great bonding time without the pressure. Both father and son share a love of cars of all kinds. This experience brought them closer.

–If you're athletic, train together and plan a long distance bike ride one summer.

This is good for moms and dads as well as sons and daughters. It's exciting, it's something they've never done before, it's something they'll always remember, and it'll give you several uninterrupted weeks of time together. (Not to mention great material for those “What I Did Last Summer” essays that are assigned in the fall.)

–Volunteer together.

Volunteering is about working together, but also about recreation after hours, and having lots of free time to talk about anything in the world. In addition you both walk away with the good feeling of time not wasted but put toward actions that make you feel better about life.

–Learn cooking together by watching any of the Famous Chefs on the cooking channel.

Watch it done, get the recipe, and try it together in your own kitchen. Cooking is one of those things you always wish you knew how to do, but you need someone to work with or model on. And if you need some recipes to kick start your kitchen adventures here are a few:

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
• Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fluff Wonton Treat
• Weight Watchers Two Point Cinnamon Muffins
• Weight Watchers French Toast Casserole

So do you have any to add to my 5 Ways for Parents to Bridge the Gap with their Teenagers

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