Your teen will give you opportunities to have the big conversations. Speaker: Dr. Lisa Damour Source: The Psychology Of Parenting Through Your Own Mental Health Challenges | Ask Lisa X Rich Roll Podcast Teen communication can be tricky. They will talk - and they often want to talk - with their parents, assuming they have a safe relationship with them. But they want to do so on their own terms: when and how they'd like, and about the topics they choose. It's easy, as parents, to get concerned or excited about things that may be going on in their teenagers' lives as they reach certain ages. However, having a big conversation out of the blue with no real-life context typically doesn't work. It feels like a lecture. And an ambush. It also feels irrelevant. We need to practice patience with these conversations. Your child will bring you tough topics. Be prepared to take advantage of these "openings" when your teen offers them. Share this post with another parent who needs to hear it!