Independence

What does independence have to do with talking to your parent?

Its because adolescents have developmental tasks. An example is a baby learning how to walk.

Young people learn how to start depending more on themselves, and less on their parent.

Think about it: depending less on their parent…  Sometimes this can be tough for your parent! It is nice to feel like someone needs you – when all of a sudden that person tries to do it on their own, it can be tough to deal with.

How can you relate? Have you ever had a good friend who would always come to you first for advice? Now all of a sudden they started dating someone and barely talk to you about what you think. You’re happy that they’re in a new relationship and can talk to their partner about important things – but you miss the special talks you used to have.

Sometimes your parent can feel the same way!

You used to ask them for their advice about everything. Now all of a sudden you are coming up with your own ways of doing things and not asking them anymore. That can be hard to adjust to – and sometimes it can lead to the two of you disagreeing when you didn’t disagree before.

Sometimes stopping to remember where they are coming from can help you avoid getting into too many sticky situations!

Check out this article by WebMD for more tips on talking to parents.