Connect With Your Teens | Conversation Starters, Parenting Tips, Screen Time, Build Connection, Communication Skills

Your teen says something about faith, dating, politics, or a decision they're making that goes against everything you've taught them. Your heart sinks. You're trying to listen, but inside you're thinking, Do I say something? What if they think I agree? What if I miss my chance to guide them? I get it. When you're parenting teens, knowing how to communicate with your teenager about difficult subjec...

You raised your kids to know and love God. You prayed with them, took them to church, and taught them the Bible. But now your teen is questioning their faith, challenging what you’ve taught them, or telling you they don’t believe in God anymore. And you’re scared. Not just because they’re pulling away from church, but because you’re afraid they’re walking away from Jesus. You want to say something...

Your teen is anxious. They’re lonely, even when they’re constantly connected. They’re spending more time on their phone and less time with people—and you’re trying to figure out what’s really going on underneath what you’re seeing. The statistics about today’s teens can be alarming, but your teen is not a statistic. In Part 1 of my conversation with Abigail Stonestreet, co-author of Summit Ministr...

Your teen tells you something that makes your stomach drop. And within seconds, your mind is racing: How long has this been going on? Why didn’t I know? What do I say? What do I DO?  That’s the moment when listening gets hard—and fear can subtly take over the conversation. Because when we’re worried about our teen’s choices, questions, or struggles, our instinct is often to jump in. Ask more quest...

Getting a lot of “fine,” “nothing,” and “I don’t know” when you try to talk with your teen? Before you decide your teen just doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, it might be time to change the conversation. So much of our everyday communication with teens is about school, schedules, responsibilities, friends, or something that needs to get done. And while those conversations are necessary, our kid...

You ask your teen to do one simple thing—and somehow you’re both frustrated, defensive, and wondering how it turned into another argument. Sometimes the conflict isn’t really about the messy room, the phone, or the schoolwork. So why do these little things keep turning into arguments—and what can you do differently when they do? In this milestone 100th episode, I’m sharing a real conflict I had wi...

How do you know if the trust you’re trying to rebuild with your teen is actually changing anything? What might your relationship look like on the other side of these difficult years? In Part 1, my husband Ed shared one of the hardest conversations he had with our daughter and the communication choices he made when he realized something had to change. But rebuilding trust didn’t happen in that one...

What do you do when a difficult conversation with your teen is going downhill fast—and then they say something that cuts straight to your heart? In this deeply personal episode, my husband Ed takes us back to one of the hardest conversations he ever had with our teenage daughter—when hurt, frustration, and years of strained communication collided. What he chose in the middle of that moment shows h...

You’ve had the conversation. You’ve prayed. You’ve researched. You’ve tried to help. And still, your mind keeps coming back to: What else can I do? What am I missing? When you see your teen struggling, making choices that concern you, pulling away from their faith, or heading in a direction you desperately wish you could change, it’s hard not to feel responsible for making things better. And witho...

You’ve spent years guiding your kids, so of course you want to share what you’ve learned when you see your teen struggling. But one of the challenges of parenting teens is realizing that as our kids grow, the way we guide them has to grow too. Sometimes giving more advice—even really good advice—can make communication with teens harder instead of easier. And if distance or shutdown has already beg...

Do you ever feel like you’d have a better relationship with your teen if you just had more time? Between work, school, sports, appointments, responsibilities, and everything else competing for your attention, it can feel almost impossible to create the kind of meaningful connection you want with your teen. But what if more time isn’t actually what you need? In this episode, I’m talking with Sarah...

Why does your teen get defensive when you’re only asking a simple question? You ask about homework, driving, friends, or plans—and suddenly your teen is pushing back or accusing you of not trusting them. If you’re parenting teens and wondering why everyday conversations turn into conflict so quickly, there may be more happening beneath the surface than you realize. You’ll learn: • What may really...

You love your teen. So why does it sometimes feel like the harder you try to help, the farther apart you become? Most moms don’t struggle because they don’t care enough. They struggle because the communication habit that feels the most loving can unintentionally create the very distance they’re trying to avoid. In this episode, we’re uncovering one of the biggest reasons conversations break down—n...

Every conversation with your teen starts before either of you says a word. Most moms don’t realize what’s shaping those conversations—or why the same patterns keep repeating. If you’ve been trying to build connection and build trust, but still feel like you’re missing each other, there may be something happening long before the conversation even begins. In this episode, you’ll discover a simple sh...

Have you been using the wrong scorecard to measure yourself as a mom? Parenting teens is challenging and if you’ve ever wondered if you’re doing enough, you’re not alone. Building trust and connection during the teen years isn’t about getting every conversation right. Sometimes the greatest growth is happening in ways you can’t yet see. In this episode, you’ll discover why your willingness to keep...

You love your teen and want the very best for them. So why do your conversations sometimes leave them feeling criticized, controlled, or misunderstood when your heart was trying to encourage, protect, and help? Terri shares a powerful coaching story that reveals one of the biggest communication blind spots in parenting teens: the gap between our intentions and our teen’s experience and why they ta...

What if one of the most frustrating things your teen says is actually an invitation… not a rejection? If you’ve ever heard, “You don’t understand,” this episode may completely change how you hear those words. If your teen has ever said, “You don’t understand,” or shut down when you were trying your best to connect, this episode is for you. Sometimes the biggest breakthrough in teen communication i...

Have you found yourself replaying the conversation with your teen over and over, wondering what you could have said differently? The truth is, helping your teen feel heard isn’t about having the perfect words. It’s about creating the kind of conversation where they feel safe enough to share what’s really on their heart. When teens feel heard, trust begins to grow—and where trust grows, connection...

Why do you keep reacting the very way you promised yourself you wouldn’t? Maybe your teen rolled their eyes, ignored you, or answered with “Whatever,” and before you knew it, your frustration took over. You weren’t trying to yell. You weren’t trying to make things worse. But somehow the conversation ended with both of you feeling hurt, misunderstood, and even more disconnected. In this episode, yo...

  Ever feel like you’re doing everything you know to build connection with your teen… but somehow you feel farther apart than ever? Sometimes the biggest barrier to building connection isn’t a lack of love—it’s the assumptions we make before we’ve taken the time to truly understand what’s happening in our teen’s heart and life. Fear can quietly fill in the blanks, causing us to react instead of re...

Have your conversations with your teen turned into one-word answers, awkward silence, or talks that feel more like interviews than connection? If so, you’re not alone—and it doesn’t mean your relationship is beyond repair. Many moms think they need one big heart-to-heart conversation to reconnect with their teen. But what if the answer isn’t one perfect conversation? What if it’s creating more opp...

Ever feel like you’re doing everything you know to connect with your teen… and somehow you’re growing further apart instead of closer? You drive them everywhere. Make meals. Solve problems. Pray for them. Yet conversations still end with eye rolls, one-word answers, or silence. Sometimes the biggest communication problem isn’t what we’re saying—it’s where our focus is. In this episode, I share a p...

Do you ever feel like you’re constantly dealing with attitude, screen time, lack of communication, conflict, or poor choices? Most moms assume those things are the reason they feel disconnected from their teen. But what if they’re not the root problem? In this episode, Terri shares a powerful mindset shift that can change the way you approach parenting teens and help you build connection, build tr...

Do you ever find yourself reacting more strongly than you want to when your teen says or does something that pushes your buttons? Maybe you’ve tried all the parenting tips, practiced better communication skills, and worked hard to build Connection, but certain conversations still leave you feeling frustrated, anxious, or emotionally drained. In Part 2 of my conversation with Lori Owens, Resilience...

Do you ever feel like you’re carrying the weight of your teen’s choices, emotions, future, and faith on your shoulders? As moms, it’s easy to believe that if we just say the right thing, do the right thing, or try a little harder, we can prevent mistakes and protect our teens from pain. But what if some of the stress, anxiety, and overwhelm you’re carrying was never yours to carry in the first pla...