Teenagers can spend hours yapping to each other on the phone but they tend to clam up when it comes to talking to you.
Now, before you get offended or worried that something is wrong, bear in mind that this is, unfortunately, just the adolescent way!
However, while you might not get the juicy gossip out of them (or you might - everyone's different!), the following tips will have you both chatting in no time:
1. Ask curious, open-ended questions
Anything with a "yes" or "no" answer is not going to get you anywhere: try to encourage them to open up by asking their opinion on a particular movie or series that they are watching on Netflix, for example.
2. Don’t bombard them with too many questions
“Where are you going?", "who are you going with?", "have you done your homework?", "when will you be back?” and so on... No one likes to be bombarded with a million questions as soon as they say "hi", so avoid doing the same to your teenager.
3. Listen and don’t judge
Always listen to your teenager without judgement - they won’t open up if you are quick to pass comment or berate their opinion. Ever since they were small you have no doubt been drumming into them the need to listen to you, now it’s your turn to heed your own advice.
4. Show them respect
Yes, teenagers are brought up to respect their mum and dad, but it goes two ways. If you want your son or daughter to communicate with you then you need to show them that you value their opinion and will always consider their views on something, even if you don't agree with it.
5. Get down to their level
Once you have opened the lines of communication, the next step is to keep them open. Watching a show like Pretty Little Liars on Netflix for example will mean you will always have something to talk about; while it’s not exactly asking them their future plans, it will build a good foundation on which to bond over.
