Chasing away adolescent blues: Tips for bonding with your teen

Bonding is essential for building healthy relationships with teenagers. Parents of teenagers particularly face unique challenges because this age group is usually moody and unpredictable.

Getting quality time to spend together when your teen is glued to their phones and locked in their room and you have a demanding job makes everything even more challenging. Nevertheless, for teenagers, feeling like their family is there for them and ready to support them through anything can prevent risky behaviors like drug abuse and criminal activities as well as reduce stress and depression.

How do you build connections and a strong bond with your teenager? Here are some activities you might enjoy doing together.

Do chores together

This includes any task around the home such as weeding the garden, cooking dinner, folding laundry, or going shopping together. You can, occasionally, help them clean their messy rooms and arrange closets.

Most teenagers like to feel that they're contributing to the household. Involving them shows you care about their feelings and what they want. They will also pick crucial skills in the process, such as financial knowledge, and also learn to appreciate the privileges they have.

Apart from creating a bond, they will also learn how to be responsible.

Encourage camaraderie by making social media content together

Social Media is an excellent way for your teenager to connect with their peers. Explore platforms like Instagram or Snapchat with them.

You can create content such as vlogs if it's something they have always wanted to try (or if not, encourage them to give it a shot if they have the skills). Remember to monitor the content for social media. This will ensure they don’t make content that is inappropriate or harmful to them. It is also good practice to limit the time they spend on social media.

Engage your teens in their favourite sports

Playing their favorite sport with them. Participating in a co-curricular activity they are enthusiastic about will help you build a stronger connection with them. You can organise a tournament among their teams and you give the winner a prize.

Let them tell you all about their best player or the team that they want to see win. You'll be surprised at how many conversations can come out of this if you let them take the lead.

Attend a concert together

Take them out to their favourite artist's concert. Learn some of the dance moves or the songs from them. If your teenager's hobby is singing or dancing, take them to a place where they can show off their skills.

Plan an outing

Do something that you both enjoy, together.  Take a drive out into the country or go fishing with them. This is also a way to teach them about an activity that you enjoy doing.

If you are both interested in marine life, for instance, go to a place where there is plenty of fish, like the aquarium or a low tide pool. If you love animals and want to help care for them, volunteer together at a local animal shelter on weekends or holidays.

Learn new skills together

This could be photography, dancing, or drawing. You can hop on the Internet and search for courses that might be a good fit. This will be an exceptional bonding experience for the two of you while they learn important life skills.

You and your teenager can also take turns making meals for each other, or learn how to make a new dish together.

Creative activities

These are always suitable for family time. Try learning an obstacle course at an amusement park, taking pictures from different angles, playing cards (alone or as a competitive game), painting pottery, and so on. Besides bonding and learning, these will provide fun memories of quality time spent together.

conclusion 

No matter what attitude your teenage son or daughter has, remember they still need love and attention.