“Never Before Have Parents Been So Important”
Dr. Smita Dipankar 
Parents, you are needed now more than ever!
Yes! The entire world was hit by global pandemic and its repercussions are still shaking us…
As adults, handling the sudden challenges in health, work conditions, finances, loss in family, we are still getting back our life, adjusting to all the changes post pandemic and restarting afresh or building our careers.
But in this, we forgot to pay attention to very special people in our families i.e. our pre-teens, teenagers & young adults (9-22 age). We take care of our kids (1-8 age), our elderly parents, even ourselves, but we expect them to act like grown-ups, understand us and also handle themselves on their own.
Let's not forget, they too faced it all - online classes, social restrictions, not able to meet friends, no outdoor games or physical activities, constant bombardment of family challenges, fear of losing a family member and uncertainty.
And now back to school & college, lots has changed for them too. The working of schools, teachers and exams, their interactions with friends & peers who are now comfortable chatting rather than talking, questioning their value systems based on the information they get on social media, and thus ending up questioning their self identity.
Have we ever thought what our very special people are going through?
What we see - they have become angry 😡, disrespectful, arrogant, lazy 😴, irresponsible and rebellious. They are addicted to social media and games.
What we don’t see - they are actually confused 🤔, feeling sad 😭, disappointed, isolated, scared 😳, insecure, judged, anxious and sometimes even depressed 😔.
Parents, today you are needed more than ever!
So stop lecturing, blaming, finding faults and shouting at them. Everybody around our teens are doing the same. As parents, the best you can do is to "listen whole-heartedly with undivided attention.” Today, give them, the most you
C-A-N (Connect-Accept-Nurture)©
CONNECT - with your heart💞
Lets reprioritise listening to our heart and putting our role of discipling and strict parenting as no.2. As parents we are constantly thinking how to do & what to do, to get our teens ready for the world. In this process we unknowingly go into discipline & correction mode. Instead lets think of our teens as 1-2 year old kids who can't communicate & express what they are feeling, and as parents we understand exactly what they are feeling. because with our babies we connect with our heart. Then what's changed now? For our teens & young adults we are still the same parents who understood them as kids. So let's connect with them with our heart and understand what they are feeling.
ACCEPT - they are hurting 😭
It's very difficult for us as parents, to accept that our teen maybe hurting. Even though we know deep down, we may deny or ignore and try our best not to accept that something maybe bothering our teens & maybe they are sad or hurting. The moment we overcome the denial & ignorance stage and finally accept the truth, we reconnect with our teen's heart.
NURTURE – with empathy and love 🤗
Just like plants every relationship needs nurturing, especially parent - teen relationship. Living with each other we constantly take each other for granted and forget that our needs keep changing. Connecting with our hearts and acceptance leads to empathy and love in our relationship with our teens.
NOW is the perfect time to create the strongest family 👨👩👧👦 ❤️ 👨👩👧👦 bond ever!!
Parents, remember only you C-A-N create this strong bond.
Let's simplify teenage together!