Are you making what your teen or young adult does about you?

If you are struggling in your relationship with your son or daughter, you may be making what he or she is doing about you.  

You can’t both accept them for who they are and take their actions and choices personally.  This doesn’t mean you need to agree with their decisions.  

But accepting who they are allows them to feel seen, valued, and loved.  

When you make whatever they are doing that you don’t like, about you, you are focusing on the affect on you and defending you.  

For example, if your son is staying up late at night and not getting to work on time in the morning and loses his job, how you handle this with him may depend on how you are viewing the situation.  If you are concerned that this reflects badly on you or means you didn’t do a good job raising him, you are not accepting where he is at in his life today… what is happening in his world, his emotions, his stresses.  You are focused on you and how his decision affects you.  This will impact how you relate to and communicate with him.  

If this post resonates with you, feel free to share anything from your own relationship with your son or daughter in the comments.  

If you need help navigating challenges in your relationship with your teen or young adult, reach out to me by direct message or through my website.  You can handle these challenges with confidence and grace, allowing a beautiful relationship to flourish.  Our children are precious and they grow up fast.  As a mom, I know and appreciate how much my relationships with my children enrich my life ❤️