Teens at Risk and Communication Breakdown
Teens at risk and troubled teens in general typically report little or no communication at home. Home has become a convenient pit stop. It as if families no longer have a “home hearth” where the art of conversation is learned and family games are played and family traditions are grown and developed. The need for so much effort devoted to teen crisis intervention did not arise in a vacuum. Family break down is seminal to the rampant behavioral problems exhibited by today’s teens and key to any healthy family is communication.
“…Researchers at the Emory University Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life studied the conversations of Atlanta-area families and came across some noteworthy findings. Parents who encourage their children to talk about feelings, like anger and sadness, were more likely to raise resilient kids.
The researchers took special note of family conversations concerning negative events such as a death. In these instances, kids struggled to understand what happened. When parents didn’t shut them down, children felt accepted and acknowledged. More than that, these children also had better self-esteem and were more socially adept.”
If communication is sorely lacking in your family, it will take conscious effort and family commitment to change the routines that families have allowed to develop over the years. Follow the link to a Psychology Today piece that discusses the issue in more detail.
Relevant Tags:behavioral problems, crisis intervention, family commitment, family conversations, parents, teen crisis, troubled teens
