28 Questions To Start A Conversation With A Teenager

Communication between a child and a parent is not always straightforward, especially as the child enters adolescence. It is common for communication and discussion problems to create a deep gap between the two generations. It is up to the parents to try to open a conversation with the teenager and find an understanding with him or her on certain issues and possibly even common interests.

28 questions to open a conversation with a teenager

1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
2. Who are your best friends?
3. What do you think would be a perfect day?
4. What has been the most embarrassing moment of your life?
5. If you could meet anyone – living or dead – who would you meet?
6. What dreams do you have?
7. What is your earliest memory?
8. Can you tell me what you like most about yourself or the least?
9. What is the most difficult thing in your current life?
10. What worries you the most right now?
11. If you are angry or stressed, what makes you feel best?
12. How can I help when you are depressed?
13. How often do you feel depressed or exhausted?
14. What things make you sad or hurt your feelings?
15. What is the most beautiful Praise you have received?
16. If you were famous, what would you like to become famous for?
17. What has been the best and worst thing that has happened to you at school?
18. What would you like to do after secondary education?
19. Are you happy with the number and quality of your friends?
20. What kind of person would you like to be as a friend?
21. Are you interested in anyone right now?
22. What kind of life would you like to live in ten years?
23. If you had a lot of money, how would you use it?
24. What would you like to change in your family?
25. Have you ever felt uncomfortable talking to your family?
26. What can I do to make the conversation more enjoyable for you?
27. Is there anything special you would like to do together as a family?
28. What things make you grateful?

Tips for opening a conversation with a young person

Make sure the questions you ask are not intrusive, but still straightforward enough. The young person is more likely to tell about their own things when he or she feels you are not blaming him or her for anything or trying to force him or her to talk. If you ask your child questions in a natural way, he or she will probably answer you honestly.

Listen to the young person and do not interrupt him. If he starts telling you something, and you interrupt him, he may not bother to try again. When you want to open a conversation with a young person, let him or her talk as much as he or she wants and be understanding of the thing he or she is telling you. It is better for a child to be able to express himself freely than to have to limit himself, because then he may feel that he cannot trust you.

Do your best not to judge the young. When a teenager feels subjected to accusations, he or she may begin to rebel and hide things from his or her parents. If you want to express a dissenting opinion or point of view, make sure you do so in a calm state of mind and with good reason. Show the young person that you are his support. Many children think that parents are too busy to listen or don’t understand them, so they prefer to stay quiet.

Tell the young person that you always have time for him, and when he needs you, he is your top priority. Sometimes it’s more that the young person feels uncomfortable talking about certain things, rather than that he or she doesn’t want to talk at all. Remember to keep your own feelings and reactions in check and show that you can hear what the child is saying – without judging him or her. If you can’t control your emotions, next time he’ll think twice about whether he wants to approach you with his personal things at all.