The new year is a wonderful time of reflection and hope.
Many people focus on personal goals like losing weight, taking up a new hobby, or achieving new levels in their careers. All of these aspirations are great! This year, why not make 2024 the year to strengthen your bond with your teen?
With only a handful of new habits, you can see a major transformation in your teen’s behavior, confidence, and, more importantly, their relationship with you.
Let’s take on 2024 with the hope-filled goal of a happier family with these 5 New Year’s resolutions for parents of teens.
1. Listen More and Talk Less
It can be challenging for parents of teens not to do all the talking—especially when teens seem to withdraw and go silent. But you send a powerful message when you listen more and talk less. You’re telling your teen that you are safe.
That’s what teens need most—a safe place to share their thoughts and feelings, no matter how irrational they may sound at times. Teens fear judgment and if you’re used to expressing your opinions about their every thought, they’ll clam up and go silent.
You can open the door of communication in 2024 when you make a resolution to listen more. Ask a question and then let your teen do the talking. Decide that you’re going to be a source of encouragement and support. Then, when the opportunity arises, you’ll be able to insert that small piece of wise advice and then pull back out quickly!
Need some conversation starters? Check out our Teen Talk Conversation Cards!
2. Unplug More
Quality time has the power to transform your relationship with your teen in 2024.
The best way to do this?
Unplug more.
Put your phone away—out of sight, out of earshot, out of the house if you have to! Turn off the TV, close the laptop, and be present. Then, get your teen involved in something with you—setting the table, cooking dinner, walking the dog, or running errands (with a lunch bribe included!).
When you unplug, you also set an example for your teen that life doesn’t exist only on a screen. You may even want to consider finding a hobby you and your teen can take up together or establishing a weekly coffee date. They may sigh or eye roll at first, but it’s amazing how often something that elicited an eye roll suddenly brings an involuntary smile!
3. Aim for Five Family Dinners Per Week
We are creatures of habit, aren’t we?
Once you start eating dinner in front of the TV every night, it just kind of becomes expected. You grab your plate and head for the couch.
In 2024, make a New Year’s resolution to start eating dinner with your teen on a regular basis. The stats are undeniable. Teens who eat dinner with their families are far better off than those who don’t—socially, academically, emotionally, and physically.
Aim for five family dinners per week. Seem impossible? When you start getting creative, you’ll see your goal come together. Then, you’ll create a new habit, and instead of heading for the couch, your family will head for the dinner table, ready to connect!
4. Tune in More
Do you know what is going on with your teen day to day?
The music they listen to? The friends they spend time with? Where they are on Friday night?
The Bible talks about what a woman of great character looks like in Proverbs 31. One of her traits is that “she watches over the affairs of her household” (v. 27). Watching over your household as a parent is a responsibility.
So many parents believe that to respect a teen, you have to become hands-off. The opposite is the case!
Your teen needs you to be involved—whether they say they want it or not, whether they receive it or not. You have a right and responsibility to monitor the ways of your household. That includes:
- The music your teen listens to. Music significantly impacts a teen’s mood and behavior. It can instill anger, rebellion and sexual promiscuity. Do you know what music your teen is listening to? Make it a point to know in 2024.
- The company your teen keeps. First Corinthians 15:33 says, “bad company corrupts good character.” You could have the sweetest teen in the world, but if they get into the wrong crowd, everything will turn. Do you know who your teen is hanging out with? Find out. In 2024, you can set the rules for who your teen is spending the most time with.
- The places your teen goes. Where does your teen go after school? Where do they go on Friday night? Do they have a curfew? Make it your business to know. You can install finder apps on their phones so you can know where your teen is at all times. It is a safety issue and a moral issue—and it’s okay for you to monitor their whereabouts. Most of the troubling things that happen to teens occur when they’re away from home. So in 2024, make it your business!
5. Attend Church Every Sunday
What are the benefits of going to church?
The research is in!
An 8-year Harvard study found that teens who attend church top other teens in every area. Here are a few examples. Teens who attend church are:
- More likely to graduate high school and attend college.
- Less likely to be sexually active at a young age.
- Less likely to use drugs.
- Less likely to suffer from depression.
- Experiencing higher levels of happiness, a sense of purpose, of volunteering, and forgiveness of others.
Even better, church attendance has been found to strengthen family bonds, including marriages, and create a sense of belonging for every family member.
It might be out of your comfort zone but make 2024 the year you attend church every Sunday with your teen and family. The benefits will quickly help you realize this may have been the missing piece of the puzzle in your life!
Need help finding a church? Try asking family, friends and neighbors for a recommendation on a church. If you are not affiliated with any particular denomination, you can search for a non-denominational church in your area.
We hope these 5 New Year’s resolutions for parents of teens inspire you to create new habits in your home. We believe when you implement them, you will have a stronger, happier family this time next year!
