My teen does not want to participate any longer
Is your teenager no longer interested in participating in family activities, and it's bothering you? We can help you approach the subject together and put things into perspective so you can better navigate this new reality.
Talk About Your Values, and Theirs
Have your teenager's priorities changed recently? Have friends, video games, or sleeping in taken precedence over family activities? As a parent, this can be difficult to deal with, but it's a normal phase in your child's development as they seek to break free from family values and gain independence.
Try as much as possible to understand what motivates your teenager to refuse to participate in family activities: Ultimately, what are the values behind their decision? On your end, you can also explain why their presence is important to you and the values you uphold.
Finding Compromises
Then, ideally, work together to find compromises - could they participate in a particular activity once a month, for example, or attend at least one family dinner per year, etc.? This situation can be more challenging for some parents than others. Only you know what works for your family, but it's true that by opposing your teenager and forcing them to participate, you're opening the door to confrontation.
If you need to talk to someone to sort out your emotions and approach the conversation with your teenager calmly, the Tel-jeunes Parents team is there for you!
How to deal with a teen who does not want to join our activities?
Genevieve, one of our professionals, gives you some tips.
