Ever feel like Parents are from Mars and Teens are from Venus?
Gaining Insight into the Minds of Teens, Finding Common Ground and Starting Conversations with a little help from Netflix:
Disclosure: As a member of the Netflix Streamteam I receive special perks for my participation. All opinions are my own.I have to admit there are times when it seems like my kids and I are speaking different languages, or worse not speaking at all. I'm not sure if having boys and our differing gender plays any part in the degree of awkwardness involved in some of our conversations, or if it's merely a parent-child generation gap thing. I do know as a parent it's important to have open lines of communication with my kids, and to find ways to make our conversations two way and meaningful. For that to happen I need my kids to feel comfortable(ish) opening up to me and their father, and to know we are here and available to talk about anything, even if "anything" is awkward and hard to talk about. I need my kids to know we'll always try to keep and open mind, and be supportive. They need to know that even if we're not thrilled about what they have to say, we love them and that won't change.
Having said that I won't say no to a little help along the way gaining insight, finding common ground, and finding ways to help segue into some of the more challenging conversations. Turns out that watching some of your kids' favourite shows with them may just be the conversation bridge you're looking for.
Watch what happened when Netflix brought some parents and teens together before and after watching 13 Reasons Why.
Parent Cheat Sheet (because who doesn't need some cheat notes sometimes?)
- 13 Reasons Why Talking Points (created by SAVE.org and JED Foundation)
- Beyond the Reasons (Netflix - after show and discussion with the cast, producers and mental health professionals)
- 13 Reasons Why Global Resource Website
Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about connecting with our teens.
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