My Biggest Parenting Secret? Boundaries, Space and Your Teens

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With summer creeping up, college students about to come home, and teens ready to enjoy summer break at home, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much the dynamic in many of our homes is about to shift. For some of us, the daily routines we’ve gotten used to will be flipped upside down - again. And even though we love having our kids back under our roofs, let’s be honest, it’s not always as smooth or idyllic as we imagine it will be.

So I’ve been asking myself: What’s the one piece of advice I’d give to another parent heading into this season? What is the bang for your buck as close to the secret of parenting teens that I can give you in a one and done answer.

And my answer is actually probably the best change I’ve ever made in myself as a parent. It’s not about new rules, or stricter consequences, or some clever new strategy. It’s about something a little harder to define - but way more impactful.

I made the boundary of our family more permeable.. I gave my teens space. And making family boundaries more permeable might just be the best change you could make, too.

Please help me with my Matrenaissance Identity Theory of Communication research by completing a completely anonymous survey at https://forms.gle/WunxbwZ7L1MmvWEF6

This research has been approved by the UNCW Institutional Review Board. 

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