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Quality Time with Your Teen
By Gwen Morrison
Pastor Jerry Schreur, a marriage and family therapist for more than 30 years in Grand Rapids, Mich. and the author of several parenting books including Fathers and Sons and Fathers and Daughters, recently described the characteristics of strong families. "According to a study of 3,000 families, [strong families] spend a quantity of time in which there can be quality experiences and mutual satisfaction."
Bea Sheftel, a mom from Manchester, Conn., recalls how much fun she had with her son when he was a teenager. "He loved to play those TV computer games, Atari and Playstation, so I played the games with him for about an hour after school," she says. "During that time we talked. He told me about school, it was great. He really opened up to me, and I found out the neatest things about his life."
Relationships with our children are not built overnight. "We must start early," Dr. Schreur reminds. "And don't give up or lose interest when it becomes increasingly difficult. Although teens may not know how to express their appreciation, they won't forget the special times, especially the one-on-one times that you spent with them."
There are times when we simply can't do it all, but there are other times we choose not to spend time together, when we could. The amount of time that kids watch television and spend surfing the Internet is increasing every day. According to the YMCA Parent and Teen Survey Report, more than one-third of all parents interviewed reported that their teens spend the majority of their free time in front of a computer or television screen.
