Five Signs You Are Having a Respectful Conversation with Your Teen

I’m often writing about how not to be disrespectful when you talk with your teen. This article is based on checking to see if you are doing it right and being respectful. There are signs that show you if you are having a respectful conversation with your teen. Here are five that I often use:

1. You both want to be there. Even if you are talking about a tough issue. You both want to talk about it and want to convey your thoughts to the other person.

2. You are using your active listening skills and she is responding to them.

3. Although the conversation may be heated, you are using a tone that says "I care about saying this to you and you are an important person to me."

4. You are able to back off if your teen wants to keep something private.

5. You are able to allow your teen to have a different point of view than your own and do not continue to try and 'win' the conversation as if it were a debate.

See how many of these signs you can find the next time you are talking to your teen. If you aren't finding as many as you would like, try our tips in the talking to teens category.