Michael Riera, PhD is the author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. In this episode, which originally aired 2014, we talk about how to connect with and parent your teen in a way that creates and maintains strong family connections.

Teenagers are amazing observers. They easily pick up on things like instances when our actions don't match our values, when we're about to give them criticism, and the times that we make judgments about them.

From puberty to sexuality to self-concept, teen's lives are changing in many ways. There is so much going on with them that it can be hard to understand their behaviors and attitudes. So how do we connect?

The answer lies in our parenting style. Parenting is an art and finding your own parenting style that is based on your personality and values can help you navigate all of the parenting decisions that you make.

Staying true to your parenting style as much as possible promotes an authentic relationship between parent and teen.

Mike has a strategy that I think is tremendously valuable: the Manager vs. Consultant. Tune in to learn how to shift your mindset from being your teen's manager and having control, to being a consultant for them and having influence. We expand on this strategy and talk about examples throughout the episode. And don't forget to adapt this strategy to your own parenting style!

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