254. Family Communication Coaching: 4 Powerful Shifts for Parents of Tweens and Teens

About this episode

This episode discusses four communication shifts to improve interactions between parents and their tweens and teens.

Is communication at home feeling tense, shut down, or full of conflict with your tween or teen? If you keep walking away from conversations thinking, “Why does everything turn into an argument?” this episode is for you. In this episode of The Single Parenting Reset Show , Tess Connolly, LCSW, breaks down four communication shifts that help parents talk with tweens and teens in a way that lowers defensiveness and builds more trust. You’ll hear why language matters so much during adolescence, how to stop over-talking in hard moments, and what to say when communication has not gone well for a while. Adolescence is a stage marked by heightened sensitivity to social evaluation, and research also links stronger parent-adolescent communication with better mental health and family functioning. You’ll learn how to: use connection-first language instead of jumping straight into correction replace lectures with shorter, calmer communication shift from blame to curiosity so your child opens up more repair communication patterns when things have been tense or disconnected use specific phrases that help tweens and teens feel safer talking to you Listen now to learn simple, research-backed ways…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tess Connolly, Therese Connolly

Topics covered

• communication
• parenting
• tweens
• teens
• trust
• conflict resolution

Keywords

• communication
• parenting
• tweens
• teens
• trust
• conflict
• language
• mental health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Single Parenting Reset Show

More episodes of Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens — Manage Behavior Problems, Reduce Screen Time & Improve Communication

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• 267. Teen Anger Issues: What to Do When Your Teen Explodes Without Losing Your Cool · June 2, 2026 · 16 min
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• 265. Why Taking the Phone Away Doesn’t Fix It · May 26, 2026 · 14 min