This is a post by William Summey. William is the team leader for ParentLife magazine in the Lifeway Kids Department. Check out a few of his suggestions about talking to your preteen:
Have you found it increasingly difficult to have a conversation with your preteen? Do you find yourself asking the same “How did it go today?” question and only getting one word answers in reply? I am a Dad of two boys: one preteen and one young teen, and getting details is like pulling teeth sometimes!
My wife and I always discuss ways to get more conversation flowing. We know they can talk about sports all day, so that is a great entry point. Having mealtime together, turning off the radio in the car, and establishing a solid nighttime routine have all been helpful for us to connect with our boys.
Sometimes we wonder if other parents have this same problem. In fact, my wife sometimes comments that if she wonders if this is just “a thing with boys.” One advantage of working with ParentLife magazine each month is that I get to hear from a lot of parents and get to work with a lot of great writers. Our Mom’s Life columnist, Angie Smith (http://angiesmithonline.com) made me feel so much better when she wrote about some of the same issues she was having with her girls.
I want to invite you to check out ParentLife magazine and our blog (blog.lifeway.com/parentlife). We focus every article to help parents of kids 12 and under raise godly kids in today’s world. Would love to hear your great ideas about getting conversation going in your home!