Episode 114

If you have a teenager, you definitely need to listen to this episode. Or if you've got a kid about to be a teenager, this is the episode for you because we thought it'd be such a fantastic idea to give you 24 awesome ways to more deeply connect with your wonderful teenager.

 

this summer and on into the fall. And they need it. They want it. They actually want to spend time with you and they actually want your wisdom and thoughts, but they also just want you to be there for them. So we're going to give you 24 ways to help you do that. And I think it's just going to be so rewarding. So I hope you listen to the podcast and I think you're going to really enjoy the conversation.

 

Hello and welcome to the Art of Raising Humans. I'm Kyle. And I'm Sarah. And today we're gonna do a fun one, Sarah. Okay? I mean, it's gonna be a fun one about we're gonna go through a list of ways to connect with your teenager. This podcast should be dropping right in the middle or near the end of summer. And I think this is such a great time before school comes back for people to really be intentionally connecting with their teenagers. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, because you know fall, I mean...

 

It's gonna get so busy and those teens, their social life, their school, maybe their work and a job, it can be really hard to find times to connect. And so you really have to be intentional. It's really important. It's a lot of fun. Teens can be a ton of fun. So we just wanna.

 

jump into talking about teenagers and how to connect with them. Well, so this is going to be an essential one. If you've got a teenager, you need to listen to this whole podcast. We're going to give you 24 ways to connect with your teenager, to deepen your relationship. And it's kind of inspired me, Sarah, because of our previous podcast we just did a few weeks ago with Nellie. And Nellie's great. Nellie Harden is great when it comes to working with teenagers. And I was just thinking, I really love that conversation. So if you haven't heard that conversation, go back a couple episodes, listen to Nellie talk about, she gives you some great steps on how better to connect with your teenagers.

 

and help make sure your teenager leaves your house at 18, this adult that knows they're worthy of love and like will just be much more successful. So really great conversation. We'll definitely do more with her, okay? But.

 

You haven't seen this list, okay? So I have seen the list. It's a list that I've used in the past. It's a list that I've kinda, Dr. Markham had a list like this on her website on AHA parenting, and I took that list and then I also kinda added my own thoughts to it and changed some of those things up, you know? And I whittled it down to these 24 ways that we use with our teenagers, but also that I recommend parents do with their teenagers, okay? But first I wanna ask, what's so important about connecting with a teenager? Why is that vital?

 

Alright, so I think sometimes, just like any, just we can feel like teens maybe don't need us as much. Sometimes they even give off that vibe, they might even tell you that.

 

because there's these moments they're pushing away, right? But they need us just as much, just as much as the little kids. And it can be hard to trust that or believe that you're getting mixed messages. They want to be with you. No, they don't. But they need it just as much. You are a big voice in their life. You're super important to them. You're a voice that they're facing all these things. It's really scary to be a teenager. It's very hard to be a teenager. A lot is going on. And you're

 

And you can be this presence in their life that says, I love you, you matter, I hear you. All the things you want your child to hear and believe and know about themselves as they're facing these big things and about to be an adult. And so your presence and that time with them is very important.

 

And I think lots of times teenagers think, whether consciously or unconsciously, in order to be separate from you and do the individualization, become an independent person separate from the family, they've got to push you away. And too many times I think parents just let themselves be pushed away. When really the kid doesn't want you to go away. The kid actually wants you to come chase after him, right? So we're starting with this premise. Kids need you, they want you. I don't care what they're saying. They enjoy time with you. So we're going to give you 24 ways to do that.

 

real quick, just, we just, I think we just need to understand it is a push -pull. There are times where they're like, I'm good, I'm heading out. And so they're gonna go practice being an adult. They're not telling you that, but that's what like internally, that's what their brain is doing. Their brain's going, okay, let's figure this stuff out.

 

We're gonna individuate we're gonna who am I? How do I do this stuff? And so they're separating from you and they need to because we don't want it cold turkey We want this little they run out there and they give some things a try and they come back to their home base Yeah, and then and and that's where they sort of build back up again and head back out So there's this out and in and out and in and that is natural. That's normal You want to support that sometimes? I think when when they're on a let me push out. We just give up

 

And we're like, okay, I need to give them space. And we give them too much space. And even in the midst of that, keep throwing it out there. Hey, I'll go for a bike rider. We're about to get to the list. Don't throw out ideas yet. No ideas. But you want to keep reaching out. So we're going to give you great ideas for reaching out, but you want to keep reaching out.

 

Don't and it's fine if they say no, that's not what they're needing right then but then the times they really need it They'll say yes. Yeah, it's great. So number one. This isn't a normal This isn't a number of importance, but this these first couple kind of are okay So number one is okay starting here number one is listen

 

Definitely. So that's a great way to connect with your teenager is to intentionally shut your mouth and listen. Honestly, error on the side of listening versus advice giving. You can ask them, hey, do you want my thoughts? And let them say no.

 

They really might just need to throw it all out there at somebody because maybe they have some friends and things like that, but you're just a different person. If you can hold stuff with them, that's really kind of what they're asking. Just listen, just hold this with me. I just need somebody to say this to. Start there, definitely. One of the real common complaints kids have is, I don't want the advice. I just want you to listen. And so it's really, I know as parents that we're like, but what? I mean, you need some real advice. And I got some good stuff. But that's where, just ask them. Just say, hey, is this a moment?

 

You just need me to listen or you want some advice and they will tell you and then just listen so make that a practice of actively listening watching their body language hearing their tone and just being a resource for them to come to because that's actually what they do with their friends and they're needing to actually be heard so they can hear themselves too and and kind of help work through the problem. Yeah, they'll be talking it out and they'll be working through it if you just give them space to do that.

 

And it's really hard because we're so smart. But we just need to be quiet. We need to let them practice. So number two is ask them how their day was every day. So be in the habit of asking them every day. Yep.

 

and they might say, fine, and walk away, or they might just pour it all out to you. But if they know that every day, the big thing you're conveying is, I care. I care about you. I care about how your day was, and I'm here for you if you need me. They might not. They might be fine. They might be really busy, whatever it might be, but they know that you took the moment, you were intentional, and you checked in with them. I know it means something to me in my marriage that every day, I know you're going to ask me how the day was, or I'll ask you, and lots of, that's where all the

 

the great conversations come from typically is from that conversation right is how was the day well here's how the day was and we start to talk like you said someone's the kid maybe busy you're not you don't need to make a big deal out of it right but you just get into the habit of I'm here every day I'm curious yes every day I'm interested yes every day I'm thinking about you yeah third is be their sounding board be their sounding board yeah

 

love this one too. I can see why these are the top. But being their sounding board, sometimes they are working through my friend did this and this or such and such they just broke up and and their their brain is trying to process through what just happened what's going on what do I think about that? Yeah, do I agree with what my friend did? Do I disagree? So they're not there. They're just needing to

 

out loud, you know, you've ever had that where you've had an idea and you're like, I just need to, you call up your friend. Hey, I just, I just need to run this by someone. I just need it. And so again, ask before you give advice, ask before you're just, you're just let, you're just almost that wall that the ball is bouncing. Yeah. Love that. Yeah. Yeah. And you're just being really curious. Your whole goal is just to stay curious, ask the questions and let them explore and run through their thoughts. Cause they need to figure out what's inside. They need to get all this settled before they go out so that they'll be certain about who they are and how

 

they want to show up and and they're doing that by working through this stuff. Number four is one that we really enjoyed so one two and three I love those but number four now is kind of more of an action that you're doing. It's going a car trip together. yeah yeah. So maybe a road trip somewhere. Yeah and make sure it's not just like your own agenda and your road trip.

 

we let our teenager play on the road trip. And that was a blast. And so it was her places she wanted to see and restaurants. And she even did the music. You know, like she was like, Hey, you run the music this time. And it was that time it was all Taylor Swift the entire time. So, and it was actually really cool because the trip was long and I learned all the Taylor Swift songs. So I got really good at that. Yeah. So it was a really great way. You want to.

 

You want a window, you want to help your kid open up and connect and stuff. A road trip's a really fun way to do it. But it probably won't go well if you're like, hey kid, you're going on a road trip with me? This is where we're going to connect. We're going to have a great time. Yes, no. Yeah. So number five is create a family book club. yeah. So I know you and Abby have done that quite often, right? There's some books that you both have read together. So if, yeah.

 

What's been neat about that is we've been able to have some fun conversations. This wasn't even really intentional on my part. She started being interested in some books and I'm like, I want to check those out. So I read them and they were a lot of fun. And so if you're, that was a really great way to be like, my goodness, this is what just happened in the story. I can't believe it. So it was a really great way to have just a fun conversation and connect over something. What I like the suggestion is you maybe go to a coffee shop and read the book together or go to a bookstore and just spend some time reading and talking about the care.

 

and what's going on, another great way to connect. Number six is offer to host a dinner party for your teen and a few of their friends. But involve them in planning of the menu, cooking the meal, doing the dessert, right? So this is a great way to invite them in to being a part of that, learning those skills, but also enjoy together as friends. Yeah, and the neat part about that is sometimes you know when their friends are over.

 

It'd be sort of weird if you hung out with their friends all the time, you know? But by inviting them in, you are part of all the planning. So you're having fun doing this with your child. And they're learning skills, but you're really getting to be with them in that part. And then maybe when the friends are over, they're just enjoying it, right? Maybe you're there, maybe you're not, however that works for you. But you got to be a part of that.

 

and then, you know, how did it go? And you get to have these conversations. And a lot of times, honestly, you can be a part of it too. It can be a lot of fun. Yeah.

 

Number seven is let them bring a friend along on family outings or vacations. You know, I see a lot of families that we help who do that too. They'll, they'll say, Hey, why don't you bring one of your friends along? You know? And, I definitely can see the excitement in the kids face. Cause sometimes it's like a place that the family goes to quite often and they want a kid to see that. Right. And I know we have done this with other families, but we've so far not done this where you just brought one friend along. Well, we did, we did one time. We went to silver dollar city, right? We did that.

 

So that was real fun. But another great way would be to plan that vacation. What do you guys want to do? And so that way then you can all connect on that together. Yep. And we have, like you said, vacationed with other people that had kids. Number eight is work out together. huh. Yeah.

 

So that has a lot of benefits. I mean, you're actually doing something together and you're also modeling, you know, your, how we care for our bodies and do hard things and all of those benefits. And, a lot of teenagers really enjoy that. They enjoy some kind of a workout or some kind of activity like that. And it can feel really safe. If you're having a little, maybe you're in a space where it's a little hard to always have conversation or maybe you have plenty of conversations. It's another way to just be with each other.

 

with a shared goal or this work that you're doing together that bonds you. Yeah, I mean, even there's a big hill near our house and sometimes the kids will go with me and do that hill and I learned so much about them.

 

just by doing that. Would it be easier to do the Hill on my own? Yeah, but doing it with them is like exponential awesomeness because like not only am I getting exercise, but then I'm seeing and learning things about them while they're seeing and learning about themselves and they're doing these hard things, but it's all for a goal that we're working together. So I love that one. Workouts can be a whole family. Yes. It can be really fun. Number nine, watch movies or a weekly TV show together. Now I know probably a lot of parents who listen to this may do that, but I think that's one of the funnest things we do. Like we as a family,

 

we have certain things, whether it's Star Wars or Lord of the Rings or these that we all enjoy together and we only do that stuff together. Like last night we were thinking about watching the new Star Wars show on TV, but you were gone last night. So the kid's like, we can't do that without mom, dad. So we just can't do these things without everybody together. And I know as a kid, I had great memories of watching Star Trek and those kinds of things. Some of my fondest memories were sitting there watching those shows and then having conversations afterwards.

 

Yeah, so it's different than like, Hey, let's just, we just watch this. We have, we have some shows we just watch whoever watches them, but then there's series, you know, like the star wars stuff. It's usually that's a family thing. And we have these certain things when a new bluey episode comes out or something like that, you have these things that you're intentionally sort of holding them sacred or holding them that this is, this is something we as a family do together. And.

you can have that conversation. And it does feel like, wait, we can't let so -and -so miss out on this. So those stories, especially that it's really great for those epic ones where there's multiple ones or a TV series where it's coming out, it's being released every week. But find something like that that you all can enjoy and bring the family together. Well, and we've even seen our kids do that now as they're getting older. They want their friends to enjoy them too. So they'll watch them again and they'll show their friends, hey, can my friends come over and see that thing we just watched? So that's really cool. Stories are such a great thing.

 

Yes. So number 10 is do chores with your teen as a way to bond with them. You know, like teens don't always necessarily recognize the time and work that goes into maintaining the home. And so this really helps them see.

 

the work that you do on a daily basis, right? To help maintain the, you know, and I think some of the coolest times right now I'm having with my son, Brennan, is mowing the lawn with him, you know? Like something I do after every time I mow the lawn is I would always get my camping chair out and I would just have like a LaCroix or something and sit back and look at the lawn. And now that Brennan's mowing the lawn, he immediately, like the first thing he wanted to do is get the camping chairs out, us both have a LaCroix or a Dr. Pepper or something and sit there and look at the lawn and enjoy it. And this

 

It's not a chore, like it feels like a great bonding activity. Yeah, and I think that's the key.

 

You know, like, Hey guys, let's go pull all the weeds, you know, weave something fun into it. And it's, it's, there's something about struggling together that really connects you, you know? And so you do turn on your favorite music, have the cold drink, you know, like do stuff to suffer together and have this beautiful and then be celebrates. Look what we did. And I'd say, even if, you know, your kid knows how to do the dishes sometimes just jump up, go in there and help them.

 

Exactly. Watch their reaction. What are you doing? Yeah, you know, I just thought I'd help you up to the dishwasher and get these done and that just sends a big message to my kids. Number 11, show up to their events.

 

show up to their events. So this summer, I would say like you just talked about our kids have been at camp all week and there's an event and of course if we didn't show up to that, it would be like devastating. And they kids, that's the first, if you remember being a kid and when you had an event, the first phases you were looking for were your parents. And so they are gonna have activities all this summer, things that they're doing, things that are going on. It's a little different than the after school activities but some of those might be similar but make sure you are showing up to

 

things that they think are important.

 

I'd say even you maybe you've got a older teenager who can drive themselves and they a lot of times so they might be like don't worry about this one I'll go be the parent who's at all the track meets or at all the whatever it is They're involved in even though they could drive themselves or or they're telling you You know just be the person who's always on the sideline cheering for them that sends a message I'm making time I'm making space because I care about you I care about the work and all that you're doing to be in this moment here

 

Yeah, and I want to be a part of that. I want to celebrate you. I want to yeah, dude Number 12 is not one necessary for the summer and it's not one parents would ever think of okay as a way to commit Commiserate with how oppressive homework can feel yeah Commiserate with it so what is commiserating? What would you think that is? I was just sitting with them going. Yeah, yes hard. That's horrible

 

Cause we've all had those really big projects that took weeks or months or was really hard or scary or stressful. Really overwhelming. Yeah. And you don't need to make it better. You don't need to, you just commiserate, just sit with them and go, wow.

 

that's a really long paper. You're you're up late tonight working on that. Yeah. How can I help right? Just like can I bring you a snack? And I like, you know, just like relate to him in a sense. man, like, how many of us like that? I know so many times when I was in high school or college, if a friend was like, dude, you got to do what that sucks. You just have that kind of and that's all they say. Yes, I know. Yes, I know. You're right. It does, man. The teacher gave you how much? Whoo, that's a lot. Right. And like you didn't need the friend to do it for you just wanted the friend to say,

 

And your friend can't or couldn't or wouldn't and you know, they were just there for you. Just be there. Just be there to commiserate. Now number 13 sounds easy, but I think it's hard for some parents. Hug them every day. Yeah. I mean, how old they are? They want that. Yep.

 

They do. And it's good for them. There's all kinds of, you can look at how important it is. Touch, hugs, all that stuff is super important. And teenagers are in a space where sometimes they might really embrace you. And other times they're like, I gotta get out the door. I'm gonna be late or whatever it might be. But again, just like the asking them how they're doing every day, hug them. It's sending a message to them. Well, number 14, I know some parents will say, well, my kids don't want hugs or they're always resistant to it. Well, number 14 is,

 

is if they don't want a hug, give them foot massages. So maybe that would be a fun one, right? To ask the kid who's been working real hard, can I massage your foot for a bit? Right? Yeah. Yeah.

 

You're not much of a person, but you're not much of a foot person. I knew that when we get you by surprise. Listeners be creative, whatever kind of massage you want to give. I wanted to say that to Sarah because I figured she wouldn't like that one, but it really, yeah. Giving a foot massage or hand massage massage their head or whatever. People like that stuff. Okay. Number 15 creates little rituals to connect.

 

So maybe every day, you know, one of the rituals could be the hug before you say goodbye or say, maybe it was just saying goodbye. I love you. See you later. That could be a ritual, you know, or you could get your nails done, you know, with your, with your daughter or, you know, you could always try to watch your favorite sports team together, find something that works and make it happen on a regular basis. Texting is, you know, some way to connect that it becomes a regular thing. They expect it. I didn't get that met, you know,

 

That message or that something that make it something they know they can count on you for. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. So find rituals that you can do and connect on. And the kids I talked to when they have this, they'll just be, yeah, I always do that with my dad. I always do that with my mom. Like there's just a gift and becomes a normal thing. So even in adulthood, they're wanting to still do lots of that stuff with you. Like, I, every time I watch that, that game, I always do that with my mom or dad, you know? Okay. So number 17, number 16 is try something new together. I love this one.

 

because teenagers often actually are in a very curious space in development. Very creative. Yeah. And new things and exciting things, that's always very appealing to them. That's what they're doing with their friends and things. And so some kind of experience, something, let's learn a new skill. Let them, and again, you're not, you're not saying, Hey, we're going to go do this, but find whatever your child's, if they are they interested in music, you're going to a different concert or some art or building something or.

 

There's a lot of different kinds of experiences. New place to eat. Yeah. Checking out cars. Maybe they like cars. You go to a car show, but something, find something that's sort of new. Novel. Yeah. Yeah.

 

And especially if it's something you're gonna learn together, let's go to this cake decorating class together. You know, find something that's new and novel and that's obviously a really fun way to connect. Number 18, ask your teens, number 17, sorry, have fun together. Seems simple, right? But really intentionally choose to have fun with them. This means you'll have to pay attention to what they think is fun and join them in that. Having fun together makes it more likely that your teenager will wanna talk with you.

 

you want to connect with you want to open up you know so really it requires you to notice you know no different than you might do with a spouse you think I want to do something fun with them I'm gonna notice what they think is fun and then go do that thing with them yeah if you're a successful spouse you're definitely you're not dragging them out your thing you're thinking about what's their thing what do they enjoy what music all that stuff you're curious and you're asking them and yeah and the more you laugh I mean all that stuff is bonding having fun is bonding.

 

18 is ask your teen to teach you something.

 

teens want to be more mature. What could be more grown up than actually teaching your parents how to do something they don't know how to do? Cause they've mastered something and your teenager has, it could be an instrument. It could be, and you don't need to become good at it. Whatever it is, if they're in football, you know, Hey, show me how you do this or show me, you know, and then even if it's just being silly, let me try. It could be a video game. It could be a game. Your kids are the good at like, can you show me how to get good at this? Right? It doesn't matter. You don't even need.

 

to become good at it. But your kid will think it's really funny to watch you for one they get to teach you. They're now the expert. Tables have turned and then to watch you try to do it. And I think you'd be surprised how many things they know that you don't know. Or how hard something is that they know. You're like, wow, that's really hard and you're able to do that? It seems easy for you. Yeah.

 

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So number 19 may not be everybody's cup of tea. I know we like it. We don't like it in the summer necessarily, but it's go camping. Yes, not a summer. No, not here in Oklahoma. Now, wherever you're listening, summer might be great for you here. It's super hot and there's a lot of bugs and mosquitoes. But so, but going camping is a great way to disconnect from the devices, go hiking, get into nature, you know, it's nature, slow stuff down. Nature has tons of benefits anyway, for our brain where we are.

 

Our heart rate slows down, but we relax in nature. So just imagine a space where your family is feeling more relaxed and together. Not everyone likes camping, but again, you can glamp.

 

You can camp whatever is up, whatever your family enjoys. You can get something that fits that and the activities. There's such a variety of activities. If you like hiking or rafting or there's a ton of, you could just sit by a fire. Go fishing. There's a lot of really fun things you can include that's doing a lot of this list all in one moment. So number 20 is buy tickets to go to a game together.

 

So the summertime would be a great time to talk about that. There'll be games coming up in the fall. Is there some NFL teams you want our NBA or just some local colleges or high school games? Pick some games. Maybe like, I see a lot of parents do this. They'll get season tickets. It'll just be like one ticket for them and one ticket for a kid. And so they'll just like take a different kid each time. And this is a great way where this becomes a family ritual that we look forward to that weekend. And they could even pick which teams they want to go watch that. But it's a great way to do it.

 

proven that when we're together rooting for this thing it's gonna deepen our connection and help us like really feel like we're together. Number 21 is volunteer together.

 

That one has, I mean, obviously you think, how cool is it to learn to take care of other people? But when you, again, it goes back to doing hard things. When you're serving together, it's a real connecting process to go and whatever the task might be a food bank or, I mean, man, we've gone with our kids and we've sorted diapers at a place that gave out diapers. And those things are all, I mean, you can just call up a local place and pick something, maybe even your

 

kid is really interested in and there's lots of ways you can volunteer but hey what can we come do you might stuff envelopes but all those things are really I think one of the coolest ways I like to see our kids volunteer is with kids at church you know yeah and it's really neat to see that we do that we volunteer we help with kids at church and then they do that as well and it's really they've we've never had to tell them to do that they just wanted to do that because the kids want to help.

 

Kids want the world to be a better place. So if you can volunteer together and learn how to make the world a better place by doing that, what a cool way to connect. And it's really, I mean, it's really encouraging. You see your kid helping like that. It just fills your heart with joy. and you see them. Yeah. Just you see a different side of them that you don't always see. Okay. Number 22, this, this, we're not quite here yet just because we don't have this yet, but ask if they'll be your friend on social media. yeah.

 

So this may they may ask you to promise not to comment on things, but you're allowed to like what they post occasionally. But it's a great window into their world, especially if you don't overreact to what you see. So if you're doing it as a way to just monitor out of fear, that's probably not as helpful.

 

But it is a way to say, hey, I'd like to just be a part of that. And at least I'm telling you, the kids I see, they want that. They think it's cool that their parents are on there, that they feel like it does provide some safety and some kind of accountability because they know, they'll tell their friends, hey, my mom's, I have to, they're less likely to say stuff that then would put them in an awkward position. So I find that to be a really - There's a little safety net there. Yeah. Yeah.

 

And you don't have to demand it. You could just ask it. I'd like to be your friend on social media. And then you can even laugh at funny things together or be connected outside of this space together. Well, just like we do. There's things that we see. Hey, did you see that one person post that thing? And then we'll laugh about it. Yeah. And same way as I connect with my friends, even though we may talk on the phone or we may spend time together, but connecting in this space is different, but it's still connection. And this is probably something you're all doing at this point with your teenagers. But,

 

If you're not, you know, you want to get better at this, but getting into the habit of texting your team that most teens will say they'd rather text than call, you know? And I know I like calling. I think that's helpful. Lots of my friends are still surprised how much I call rather than texting. But I think getting into the habit of knowing how to text, knowing how to even make the texting fun, that texting isn't always something where you're getting onto them or getting mad at them.

 

Yes, yes, that's right. Maybe that's something they can teach you even you know teach me how to text the lingo teach me how to what does this mean? I don't know right they'd love it. They think it's so funny when you when you Or when you use it appropriately when you text them they'll love that and they'll think it's so funny like I can't believe you use that one thing Yeah, so so that's a good way to get into the habit of you know connecting with them through daily texting on a regular basis It's really easy for them all throughout the day. They just keep you informed of what's going on through text

 

Okay, number 24, the last one. This is probably one of the most important. It's probably up there with listening. Okay? Yes. Bite your tongue. Yes. Bite your tongue. Kind of touched on this. Yes. Because you just have to with listening. Definitely hold back with those teenagers. And again, ask, can I say something? But...

 

kind of default to and not that we're always perfect at this because sometimes you just have those ideas and you just so badly want to say them but try try try try to just hold it in a lot of times if you pause for a second I like to ask myself have I said this before do they probably already know this most of the time they do yeah and you just you feel this compulsion to say something to keep reiterating it speak into this moment like do they realize you know but you or if you think you don't know if they know we're not but what will it be

 

a big deal. Can I let them?

 

just figure this out, work through this. Cause you want that skill built into them, right? We adults figure things out and work through things and we really want them practicing. So just think, is this a moment? I can just let them work this out. I need to bite my tongue. Have I said this 10 other times? I need to bite my tongue. And it's hard to do. It is, but it's also a recognition. Your teen isn't perfect. You don't need to have a perfect teenager. So biting your tongue, but Hey, it's okay. They're going to make mistakes. I don't need to try to correct this and make this better. Okay. I would add a few more. So that's, that's our 24.

 

or be thinking if you have any other ones. I would love, I love the idea of finding a certain type of food that you and your teen like and maybe try all of those restaurants in your town and see which one has the best one. Abbie and I have been doing chicken fingers for some time. Brennan and I have been doing burgers, but you can do sushi. So a lot of times the teens I'm with, they really like that idea. Another idea is just to plan a monthly get together with them. So maybe it's breakfast, maybe it's dinner, maybe it's lunch, whatever it is, but every month that teen knows.

 

There's so many guys and girls that I knew in college who had that kind of connection with their parents and their parents would come into town once a month just to continue that ritual. And the kid really looked forward to it because they could keep them up to date on all the college stuff. But they started that way in the teen years where that was just something they wanted to do. So they wanted to continue it. Yep. Do you have any other ones you would add? not off the top.

 

I didn't have any time to prepare. There are so many good ones. There are some that I do love. Well, we'd love to hear from you listeners, because Sarah needs some help with ideas. If you've got some ideas of your own, I'm sure there's fantastic things you guys do with your teenagers and ways to connect, and are doing it this summer, or thinking about it in the fall. So please email us at kyle at Art of Raising Humans. Send me those ideas. I'd love to hear it. And maybe some of those, they're fantastic. We'll do it in our family too. Yeah. We'd love to hear what you're doing. Also, I want to reiterate, any time that you're thinking, I would like some help and support on my coaching journey,

 

or my parenting journey.

 

We love to coach parents through that and teach them the skills that we were taught by some fantastic coaches. So you can also reach out and email me at Kyle at artofraisinghumans .com to let me know you're interested and we can set up a call and we can discuss what that would look like, okay? And see if you're a good fit for the program. So in wrapping this up, would ask you to please leave a review, some comments, all those are so helpful, really encouraging to us. And we hope your summer is going great with your family and hope these ideas helped you exponentially go deeper with your teenager.

 

Yes, we appreciate you. Thanks for listening.