Sometimes family conversations stay grounded in the need-to-do’s and should-have-done’s. But when was the last time you sat down with your teenager and asked a question that let him think big?

I often hear parents say they have trouble talking to their kids. The conversation falls flat, or the topics are mundane. Let me give you a few hints for starting conversations that go deeper:

First, ask a question and don’t give your own answer unless asked.

Second, don’t do anything to shut down their response.

And finally, get creative! Ask questions that can’t be answered “yes” or “no.”

Mom, Dad, try it. The conversations in your home will take off! And you’ll find yourself learning lots of new things about your teen.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Student Story: Shade

Bullying is one of the most serious and widespread epidemics present in schools today. What can parents do to combat the effects of bullying in a teen’s life? This weekend on Parenting Today’s Teens, Mark Gregston identifies three types of bullying that are taking place in today’s world—and how parents can respond.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

How much grace is in your home right now?

When teenagers get out of line, when they cross boundaries and make us angry, it’s easy to think they don’t deserve grace. But when they mess up, it’s the perfect time to give it!

Remember, grace isn’t deserved. That’s why it’s amazing. Undeserved forgiveness, undeserved privileges, undeserved love. That’s what we receive from God. And, in human terms, we pass it on to our children in an act of kindness and love in the face of bad behavior and poor choices.

I know it’s tough. I know it’s painful. But grace, given at just the right moment, has the power to change the direction of your struggles and may ultimately bring you together once again.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

I’ve known many courageous and passionate Christians who act on God’s calling in their lives and become missionaries. They step into unknown and unfriendly worlds in order to show the love of Christ.

You may or may not be one of those missionaries. But if you’re a mom or dad with teens at home, you have the same kind of calling on your life! Instead of showing God’s kindness and love to people on another continent, you’re displaying it twenty-four hours a day in your own home.

The mission field God’s given you—your teen and his friends—isn’t always friendly. In fact, you may be convinced that you don’t even speak the same language! But keep your perspective, stay strong, and remember that you’ve been called to embrace your teen with the love and grace of God.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

As a parent, and now a grandparent, I can remember times when I blew it! Do you have memories like that, too?

No one is perfect, of course. You and I are going to make mistakes in this parenting journey, just as our kids will make blunders of their own. But it’s how we deal with our missteps that counts. How often do you fess up?

Let me give you three tips on apologies:

First, make them one-on-one. If you hurt your oldest son in some way, go to him and talk it through.

Second, be specific. Instead of saying “oops, I blew it,” name the offense.

And finally, affirm the relationship. Set up a time when you can hang out with your kid and begin to rebuild.

Is it time to say “I’m sorry”? Do it today.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

I don’t know of any parent who intentionally wants to push their child away. You and I would rather draw them to us!

In the first chapter of John, we’re told that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” I pray that that description would be our goal as parents, as well. In more than thirty years of working with teens, I’ve found that a lopsided approach to this formula isn’t helpful. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Truth with judgment pushes kids away. Truth with relationship draws them to you.

May we embrace both grace and truth in our homes. Grace to love without qualifications, and to build relationship consistently. And truth to keep us in line with God’s Word.

Are you pushing your kids away? Or drawing them to you?

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Every parent has a “tool box”, a collection of methods that have proven helpful in the past. But when was the last time you added a new tool to your stash?

Sometimes I run into moms who overuse the “tool” of repetition. When their kids were young, reiteration was necessary to help children remember and obey. But when those children become teens, repetition loses its poignancy. It starts to be known as nagging.

If your tendency is to reach for the pestering tool every time you want to teach a lesson or encourage maturity or get something done at home, you’ll begin to push your teen away.

Maybe it’s time to add a new tool to your collection. This time, instead of nagging, just listen!

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Student Story: Abby

In most households, teens and conflict usually go hand in hand. So how can parents turn the next confrontation with their teen into an opportunity for growth? On this weekend’s edition of Parenting Today’s Teens, Mark Gregston shares the seven characteristics of a successful argument.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

In East Texas, we’re no strangers to bad weather. Dark clouds move in and stifle the once wide-open skies. In a matter of minutes, a sunny summer afternoon can turn to downpour.

It doesn’t matter if you live in Texas, New York or California, if you have teens at home, you know the wild weather comes without warning! What seems to be sunny days of childhood, turns into dark brooding clouds of adolescence. So, how do we weather the storm? How do we prepare?

Well, it starts by understanding the changing world of your teen. Look behind the behavior to see the cause. Learn to see how your teen sees the world. You cannot help when you cannot see.

So, what’s the weather forecast at your house? Are you ready for the storm?

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.

Do you have any heroes? Can you point to someone who shaped your convictions and helped you get through difficult seasons?

In the last few months, my path crossed with two of my life-long heroes. One a popular singer named Kenny Loggins, the other a preacher named Chuck Swindoll. An unlikely duo, but both men encouraged me in different ways through the years, giving me perspective when I was down, and helping me turn to God for guidance in confusing times.

Interacting with these men recently, I was reminded how we all need others to help us through. Whether on the stage with a guitar in hand, behind a pulpit or whatever, identify that hero and tell ‘em “thanks.”

Then, pay it forward. Be that steady voice of strength to someone who desperately needs you.

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple, Android and Window users. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.