How to best communicate with your teen is probably the 50 thousand dollar question I’m asked from every mom and dad of a teen. Because let’s be serious here, they are a little bit crazy. They are a little bit moody. And they’re a little bit more irritable. But we love them to death. So what do you do? Get into their world and understand where they’re coming from. First, they hate lectures, so holt the judgments and even keep it briefer. Sometimes it’s a 10 second rule. If you can’t say what you want in less than 10 seconds, you’re saying too much. Second of all, what you want to do is figure out their time zone – literally, one of my kids it was 5 o’clock in front of the refrigerator and that’s where I’d plant myself. They are more receptive to talking. Number three is for teens in particular, sometimes they are more open if they’re actually doing something – like if your daughter’s cooking, she’ll be open up more. Your son’s out there shooting baskets, he’ll talk more. Teens are super sensitive. Sit side-to-side, not face-to-face and what you’ll discover is simple little techniques actually begin to help them open up, because they trust you. Stay involved in your kids’ world. They need you. You just have to be craftier and more creative on how to get them to open up to you.