Keep Them Talking

My friends with teenage children tell me that one way to survive the teenage years is to “keep them talking.” That’s the most important thing. For them, hearing just a few words out of their teenagers seems like precious gold. Parents of teenagers cherish every conversation, every text, and every moment when the teen just wants to talk.

I needed to hear that today because in my life, there’s so much talking from children that I think I might go crazy. Every meal time, dinner ride, bed time routine, wake up routine, homework session, and walk to school is too much talking. My little girls fight over who gets to tell me what next. My husband even puts his hands up over his head at dinner to referee between those of us who just have so much to say.

But it won’t always be this way.

For now, I’m going to listen and keep them talking–even if it makes me crazy, even if the whole house is loud and buzzing with talking. It might not be this way in a few years.

Keep them talking.

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Isn’t it hard to listen to children talk all day long? I was told to “be quiet” so many times as a child!

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  2. Yes!! One of the most important parenting guidelines ever- communication. It's so worth the investment of time. My girls are 15 and 18 and we talk about EVERYTHING. However, my husband still puts his hands over his ears at the dinner table when the noise is too much 😉

  4. I remember when my kids were young and their constant talking did make me a bit nutty. Now they're out of the house and we have a one year old granddaughter who isn't very verbal yet…so I do most of the talking. I'm probably driving her a bit nutty. I guess there is a season for everything!

  6. I remember telling my little ones that we needed to rest our ears once in a while…and they believed me. =) I was very fortunate to have teenagers that continued to talk to us. I think it's critical that children/young people know that they can talk to their parents about anything…and that we will give them our undivided attention.