May 29, 2020
TEACHING & PARENTING
TEENS
When it comes to teaching or
parenting your teens, have you ever caught yourself thinking – or
even saying - something along the lines of, “If you’d JUST
(fill in the blank: be more respectful, do what I tell you to
do, follow the rules, do your homework, do your chores, etc.),
I wouldn’t get so (fill in the blank: angry, frustrated,
disappointed, sad, etc.?)”
Yeah, me too.
Fortunately, I’ve gotten a lot
better at stopping that thought in its tracks – because I recognize
it for what it is. Which is me, trying to put what’s under MY
umbrella underneath my teen’s.
STAYING UNDER YOUR
UMBRELLA
“Under my Umbrella” is a visual
that my good friend Tami Schow – who’s also a licensed counselor –
came up with to explain what healthy boundaries are. The only
things under MY umbrella are MY thoughts, feelings, actions,
behaviors, emotions, beliefs, values, etc. Anyone else’s belongs
firmly under THEIR umbrella. (If you want to know more about it,
you can download the graphic in the Referenced in this Episode
section below.)
WHO’S IN CONTROL
HERE?
So, going back to my original
question, you can see why that thought is flawed. Nothing my teens
do controls what’s underneath MY umbrella. So even when they aren’t
the respectful, obedient, rule-following, homework-doing,
chore-finishing offspring I’d prefer, I am in control of all
the things under our umbrella. You are too.
Which means our teens DO NOT
CONTROL whether or not we’re angry, frustrated, disappointed, or
sad.
We do.
If you’re like me, it might be a
bit of a paradigm shift.
TEACHING & PARENTING
TEENS FROM UNDER YOUR UMBRELLA
When you take responsibility for
what’s under your own umbrella, it means you’re showing up as a
grownup – not only with your teens but with everyone else too. You
are managing yourself, and taking responsibility for what you
believe and value, what you’re thinking, feeling, and doing, how
your acting. Which can be a little scary, because that means you’re
more vulnerable to being wrong, making mistakes, and having to make
amends. It’s easy to put that off on other people, because, hey,
it’s easier to blame someone else than to let the buck stop with
you.
HERE’S WHAT IT
TAKES
It requires a lot of humility to
own everything under your umbrella. The flip side? Owning my own
stuff helps me have a LOT more compassion for the people around me
– because I know how I want to be treated when I own up to
my messes, so it’s much easier to extend that grace to
others.
I want to show up as the grown-up
with my teens, so that I can connect with them, mentor and guide
them, and model what adulting looks like for them.
3 FACETS OF TEACHING &
PARENTING TEENS
There are a lot of facets to
doing that - showing up as that grown-up for your teens - whether
in the classroom or in your homes. You’ve got to know yourself,
know your teens, and know your stuff. Here’s what I
mean.
Know
yourself
- Take an honest look at what
makes you, you. What are your strengths? Challenges? Things that
trigger you?
- When you’re well-versed in all
those things, you can leverage what works and mitigate what
doesn’t.
- For me, I know that my strengths
are communication, compassion, teaching, enthusiasm, and
spontaneity. My weaknesses are my pride – owning up to being wrong
is often excruciating and shameful for me; perfectionism and being
organized.
- I know that I’m triggered by out
and out defiance – when my teens (or my students, when I taught)
give me an outright “no” or refuse to comply, that pushes my
buttons like nothing else. I’m also triggered by smaller things,
like someone poking my arm to get my attention, or feeling crowded.
That’s something I figured out as a teacher when students would
swarm my desk and surround me. Ugh.
- Knowing these things about
myself helps me recognize where I am in the moment so that I can
respond thoughtfully instead of reacting
Know your
teens
- Become a student of who they
are. What are their strengths, challenges,
triggers?
- Here’s a funny thing. I’ve found
that with my teens, oftentimes my strengths are what
triggers them. Let’s take teaching, for instance. Right now, here’s
what I’m hearing from my 16-year-old. A LOT. “UGH! You don’t have
to turn this into a lesson, Mom! I’m just trying to talk to you!” I
had to reflect on that, and I realized she was right. In my mind,
our time together is slipping away so quickly, and I want to teach
her (there it is!) everything I can before she launches into the
world. But I also need to be sure to just listen to her
and enjoy our moments together.
- Another way my strengths trigger
both my teens? My enthusiasm. I’ve gotten a lot of “You are so
extra, Mom. You’re making too big a deal of this.” Ironically,
they’re not just talking about negative stuff – they’re talking
about the good things that happen that I get excited
about.
- I have a feeling – or maybe it’s
my wishful thinking – that these will be the things they appreciate
about me later on in life. What I have to do right now, though, is
walk a fine line between being me and respecting who they
are and what they need from me. Curbing my enthusiasm might take
effort on my part, but it also may open the door to my teens
sharing more of their experiences with me. It’s a balancing
act.
- Figure out their currency. Video
games? Phone time? Time with friends? Know what will work to get
their attention. Make sure there is a connection between what
you’re dealing with and how you’re using the currency.
Know your
stuff
- Gather all the tools,
strategies, methods, information you can, and create your own
“manual”
- Whether you’re a teacher or a
parent, you don’t need me to tell you that every teen is different.
And not only are they all unique, but they’re also all shifting and
changing constantly. Which means that something you used to connect
or communicate with them yesterday might not work today. That means
that you not only have to know them as I talked about in
the last point. You also have to be constantly on the lookout for
ways to reach them.
- You have to create the manual
for what works for you – the things that align with your values and
beliefs – AND what works with your teens – the things that speak to
them, move the needle, spark connection and growth. It’s about
knowing the WHAT and being flexible with the HOW.
- Some examples: weekly dates,
reading books together, a tool kit of phrases – “help me
understand” or open-ended questions (can’t be answered
yes/no/fine), strategies to get out of fight-flight-freeze,
information on how teens brains develop – anything that
helps you connect with, nurture, teach, mentor, guide your
teens.
TYING IT ALL
TOGETHER
When you can do these 3 things –
know yourself, your teens, your stuff – you are showing up as the
grownup your teens need. You’re taking the pressure off of them to
be responsible for things outside their own umbrellas, and letting
them be the growing, developing, messy adolescents they are. Which
is HUGE. Because that means you’re letting them go through the
process of figuring out who they are and who they’re not. Which is
what teaching and parenting teens are all about.
DON’T MISS THESE
RESOURCES
If you want to know more about
that process, be sure to grab my free eBook, you can find the link
to that below. I’d also love to invite you to the parenting
workshop I’m offering in June. You can find all the details and
sign up for that below as well.