This mother is worried about her 14 year old son, who has gotten into some habits that she and society disapproves of. Is he headed down a horrible path, or is something else going on? This call is relevant to all parents of teenagers (current and future), and well, the teenagers themselves. Quick warning: This may be the most politically incorrect call I’ve ever done (I don’t care), because I tell the truth. It might be interesting to listen to this WITH your teenager and see what incredibly interesting conversations come up.
This call ended up being a little longer than normal, but I wasn’t willing to cut out even a single word.
Topics covered on this call
- She feels like if she could just move to a different area, his troubles would go away
- Why is she attracting this situation to HER reality?
- How can she match up with a different version of her son?
- Her son has gotten into smoking pot and skipping school. Has she lost control?
- What our desire to “control” our children stems from and why it’s a losing battle
- Why we don’t have to feel badly about that (control isn’t needed)
- Why seeing teenagers as children is a big mistake
- Why today’s teenagers seem “worse” than past generations
- How to see and honor your teenager’s wisdom (yes, they have wisdom)
- The truth about smoking marijuana (yes, I know I’ll get some shtick for this, I don’t care. I tell it like it is)
- Why demonizing alcohol and marijuana shuts down all authentic conversation, and what to do instead
- What’s really happening when people “ruin their lives” with alcohol and drugs and how to check if that’s what’s happening with her son
- The one mindset shift that will instantly improve communication with teenagers
- Why her son is skipping school and why discipline isn’t going to be effective
- How focusing on her son’s passions can help him do better at school overall
- Getting some perspective on the importance of doing well in school, and why many kids today just aren’t buying it anymore
- Counteracting his teacher’s limiting beliefs
- Why most people giving advice to teenagers aren’t qualified to do so
- The best way to uplift and inspire her son
- Guiding her son versus just trying to tell him what to do
- How to work herself into a much better feeling place before trying to guide her son
- How to determine which rules are valid, and which ones need to be dropped
- How you can actually help your kids manifest negative experiences by pushing your fears onto them
