Relationships with a Teenager: How to Stay Connected

A teenager closes the door to their room, answers in monosyllables, gets irritated over small things — and you feel lost: the child you were close to seems to have disappeared. This isn't the result of your parenting and it doesn't mean you've become strangers. It's an age when closeness gets rebuilt, and how you move through this stage determines whether the connection survives.

What's happening to the teenager and to you

A teenager is solving a big task: separating from you and figuring out who they are. To do that, they need to close the door, argue, try new things, and sometimes make mistakes. Pulling away here isn't a side effect — it's part of the work.