Do You Know the Power Of Language To Your Teen?
“I think I want to be an actor, but there’s nooo waaay that’s gonna happen.” “I don’t think that test went well. I probably failed.”
Ouch. This is hard to hear coming from teens. Heck, coming from anyone. Why not think positively? It doesn’t cost your teen anything more. Unless your teen didn’t prepare for the test at all, your teen owes it to themselves to think positively. The power of words is that by substituting a positive word for a negative one, you can create hope. With hope, there is possibility. With possibility, comes change.
“I want to be an actor because I have just as much a chance as anyone else and I love acting.” “I’m not sure how that test went, but I know I did my best. So we’ll see.” This is a different way of looking at things by simply removing the negativity.
Changing the language of your teen begins of course with you. When you begin listening to yourwords, you help change the words of your teen. “Did you get any Fs on your report card again?” “You’re late! Were you out with that no good boyfriend of yours again?!” Your teen picks up on this negative slant on events. They take on your perception of who they are. They think they have no choice. They ‘re still learning and experimenting with who they are and in addition to trying on the fashion trends and music of others, they try on the words of others too. If their environment seems to be defining them as “stupid” “the slut” “the loser” well, they just try it on and see if it fits. If they hear it enough they begin to believe it whether it’s true or not.
Teens want to hear good things about them too. Offer a positive word “Is there a good reason for breaking curfew? Or “Is there a chance there’s an ‘A’ on the report card, you worked so hard?” This is much easier than trying to reverse years of negative language because after years of it, they won’t believe anything positive said about them. The power of your teen’s language begins with you.
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