Parent-Child Communication Throughout Adolescences

Denise Moon 

The professional area of psychology this article represents is Developmental Psychology which can be defined as scientific study on how human beings develop during the course of their life span. The subject matter of this particular article focuses on developmental changes in parent-child communication throughout adolescences. Psychology professionals throughout this paper such as counselors at school, family youth counseling’s and social service workers advise will be used to assist on giving support on how to much sure parents and their teen s learn to communicate effectively. This paper will show the advantages of parent-child communication and how important it is to ensure parents and teens have an effective and close relationship.

Communication can play a key factor for an adolescences and parent relationship. It is so vital that parents keep an effective line of communication with their child as well as when they reach teenagers. It is essential that parents keep a loving positive relationship with their child from early childhood to adolescents. During early adolescence it is essential that young teens feel comfortable having a conversation and discussing daily plans and private issues with their parents. Adolescences want to be able to communicate with someone they feel they can trust and not be judged all the time. Often parents feel uncomfortable talking to their teenager about certain things just as the teen does. As stated by Lippold, Duncan, Coatsworth, Nix & Greenberg (2015 p. 1671), “Interventions to improve mindful parenting may be one avenue to promote parent-adolescent communication during early adolescence.

The psychological theoretical perspectives presented in this paper focuses on how the developmental changes in parents and child communication carries on from early childhood until middle or to late adolescents. Communication with your child early on their life gives parents a greater chance at forming a close relationship where the young teen feels comfortable opening up and talking with their parent. It is imperative to a teenager that the parent is actually listening to what they are saying as well as valuing their opinion. It can really mean a lot to a young teen to feel like what they’re saying is important. As a parent it is essential to take out the time and not interrupt the young teen until you’ve heard everything they have to say before passing judgment.

It is vital that parents know how much communicating with their adolescences child could prevent their child from committing suicide, using drugs and many other issues that young teens face in today’s society. Communicating with young adolescences can open many doors and opportunities to form a positive as well as loving relationship between parent and child. This also gives parents a chance to gain their child’s trust. Teens in today’s society have to face many issues in school today such as peer pressure which can cause them to become depressed and go through a deep depression which often leads to teen suicide. According to King & Vidourek (2012 p. 15), “Research clearly indicates family connectedness helps to prevent suicide even if teens are socially isolated from peers”.

According to Shireen, Janapana., Rehmatullah, Temuri & Azim (2014 p.206), “Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people aged 15-24 in the USA”. Social Media has also become a major factor in the lives of many young teens today. Many teens have to deal with the cyber bullying and other issues that are out there now on the internet. Having a positive line of communication with your child allows you to be able to discuss with them all the advantages and disadvantage of being able to do things online. Communicating with the teen will allow them to feel like they can talk to their parents about the problems they having on social media and any other issues they may be facing,. Many teens commit suicide because they feel all alone and feel like they have no one who understands how they truly feel inside. According to Willard, (2006 p. 54),” Cyber bullying may include sending or posting harmful material or using digital technology to inflict social cruelty on victims”.

In conclusion showing your adolescent teenager love and respect can allow a parent to open up those lines of communication and start a great relationship with their child. Communicating and listening to your young teen can play a major part in the teen’s life. Parenting is hard work and times have definitely changed since the nineteen eighties. Teenagers in today’s society are faced with many challenges that can be solved through effective communication between parent and child. It is essential that parents allow their child to have some privacy but at the same time parents have to ensure their young teen that as a parent they will be there for them with listening ears whenever they need to talk about anything.

References

King, K. A., & Vidourek, R. A. (2012). Teen Depression and Suicide: Effective Prevention and Intervention Strategies. Prevention Researcher, 19(4), 15-17.

Lippold, M., Duncan, L., Coatsworth, J., Nix, R., & Greenberg, M. (2015). Understanding How Mindful Parenting May Be Linked to Mother-Adolescent Communication. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 44(9), 1663. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0325-x

Shireen, Janapana., Rehmatullah, Temuri & Azim (2014). Trauma experience of youngsters and Teens: A key issue in suicidal behavior among victims of bullying?. Pakistan Journal Of Medical Sciences, 30(1), 206. doi:10.12669/pjms.301.4072

Willard, N.E. (2006). Cyber bullying and cyberthreats: Responding to the challenge of online social cruelty, threats and distress (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Center for Safe and Responsible