Getting a lot of “fine,” “nothing,” and “I don’t know” when you try to talk with your teen?

Before you decide your teen just doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, it might be time to change the conversation.

So much of our everyday communication with teens is about school, schedules, responsibilities, friends, or something that needs to get done. And while those conversations are necessary, our kids need opportunities to simply talk with us—without an agenda, a problem to solve, or a lesson attached.

In this episode, I’m sharing 3 unexpected conversation starters that can help you change things up, learn something new about your child, and create more positive experiences of talking together. You’ll also see how these lighter conversations give you a great opportunity to practice the communication skills that help build connection when the deeper conversations come.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why your teen’s one-word answers may not mean they don’t want to talk to you at all
• How changing the kinds of questions you ask can open the door to a completely different kind of conversation
• What to do when your teen actually starts talking so you don’t accidentally shut the conversation back down

God already knows our kids completely—their thoughts, their hearts, and every detail of who He created them to be. And what a privilege that we get to keep discovering more about them as they grow. Sometimes building a stronger relationship with your teen starts with simply getting curious and listening to the answer.

Want 7 more questions to help get your teen talking?

🎁 Download my FREE 10 Conversation Starters to Get Your Teen Talking Without the Pressure: https://connectwithyourteens.com/teen-conversation-starters-page

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

MORE RESOURCES

✨ Website: Free resources and practical support to help you build connection and trust with your teen.

👉https://connectwithyourteens.com

✨ Connect With Your Teen Roadmap: A step-by-step, Christ-centered path to stronger communication, trust, and connection.

👉https://connectwithyourteens.com/roadmap

✨ Work With Me: Get personalized communication coaching for your specific relationship and situation.

👉http://ConnectWithYourTeens.com/communication-coaching

✨ Join the Facebook Group: Connect with other moms and get practical encouragement for parenting and communicating with teens.

👉Connect With Your Teens Facebook Group

RELATED EPISODES

16 — Feeling Disrespected When Talking to Your Teen? 3 Tips to Foster Mutual Respect

22 — Tired of Misunderstandings with Your Teen? 3 Keys to Get Them Talking (Instead of Walking Away)

You ask your teen to do one simple thing—and somehow you’re both frustrated, defensive, and wondering how it turned into another argument. Sometimes the conflict isn’t really about the messy room, the phone, or the schoolwork. So why do these little things keep turning into arguments—and what can you do differently when they do?

In this milestone 100th episode, I’m sharing a real conflict I had with my daughter and three communication shifts I wish I understood then.

You'll learn:

• What may actually be fueling those arguments that seem to happen over the smallest things
• What to do when the conversation has already gone sideways—and you wish you could start over
• How to address the real issue without turning it into another battle or sacrificing connection with your teen

When we anchor ourselves in Christ, release what we can’t control to God, and practice new communication skills, we can approach even hard conversations with more peace and confidence.

Ready to feel more peaceful and confident in your communication with your teen?

🎉 To celebrate Episode 100 and more than 10,000 downloads, I’m having an Episode 100 Flash Sale on the Connect With Your Teen Roadmap only for the next few days.

👉 Get the Episode 100 Flash Sale & Join the Roadmap

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

🤍Looking for a safe, faith-based community of moms who get it?

Come join us inside the How To Connect With Your Teens Facebook group—we’re waiting to welcome you.

👉Connect With Your Teens Facebook Group

💌Want weekly encouragement straight to your in box?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for weekly parenting tips, encouragement, and support straight to your inbox Weekly Insider Newsletter

👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/connectwithyourteens

✨ Support the Podcast

If Connect With Your Teens has been helpful to you, you can now support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps with the costs of producing the show and reaching more moms with practical help and hope for their families. Thank you for being part of this work!

👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/connectwithyourteens

✨ Website: connectwithyourteens.com for free resources, practical support, and more ways to build connection and trust with your teen.

Related Episodes

49 — The Power of God’s Acceptance to Turn the Heart of Your Teen

87 — 3 Ways to Stay Calm When Your Teen Pushes Your Buttons

89 — Your Teen Says, “You Don’t Understand.” Here’s What They’re Really Asking For

How do you know if the trust you’re trying to rebuild with your teen is actually changing anything? What might your relationship look like on the other side of these difficult years?

In Part 1, my husband Ed shared one of the hardest conversations he had with our daughter and the communication choices he made when he realized something had to change. But rebuilding trust didn’t happen in that one conversation.

In Part 2, we’re taking you into what happened afterward—and some of the moments when we began realizing our relationships with our kids really were changing. They started telling us things we weren’t sure they would tell us. They began asking what we thought. And we learned that building trust with your teen isn’t about getting them to agree with you or even take your advice. It’s about creating a relationship where they know they can come to you.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The signs that showed us trust and connection with our kids were beginning to grow
• What happened when our son came to us after making a decision that could have had serious consequences
• Why listening without immediately judging or correcting matters in teen communication
• How to stay connected when your teen’s opinions, beliefs, or choices are different from yours

As parents, we can’t control what our kids believe, choose, or ultimately do. But we can stay anchored in Christ, listen with humility, and trust that God is at work even when we can’t see it yet. Sometimes building a stronger relationship with your teen begins by releasing the outcome and choosing how you want to show up in the next conversation.

What could begin to change if your teen knew they could tell you the truth—even when you might not like what they have to say?

💛 Join me for my FREE Connect With Your Teen Workshop Tuesday, September 15, where I’ll walk you through a practical, Christ-anchored roadmap to communicate with confidence, restore connection, and build lasting trust:

👉 connectwithyourteens.com/workshop

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

💌Want weekly encouragement straight to your in box?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for weekly parenting tips, encouragement, and support straight to your inbox Weekly Insider Newsletter

💛 See What Happened Years Later With Ed & Sharaya

You heard Ed share the story on the podcast. Now you can see Ed and Sharaya sitting together years later, talking honestly about their relationship, what changed, and what they learned along the way.

👉https://riseabovethesilence.com/ed--sharaya-interview-2019

✨ Support the Podcast

If Connect With Your Teens has been helpful to you, you can now support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps with the costs of producing the show and reaching more moms with practical help and hope for their families. Thank you for being part of this work!

👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/connectwithyourteens

✨ Want to work 1:1 with me?

Book a 1-hour Communication Coaching Call. Together, we’ll identify what’s getting in the way of connection with your teen, uncover practical next steps, and create a clear plan so you can stop feeling stuck and start rebuilding trust and connection.

👉Learn More: ConnectWithYourTeens.com/communication-coaching

✨ Website: connectwithyourteens.com for free resources, practical support, and more ways to build connection and trust with your teen.

Related Episodes

17 — Struggling With Teen Lying? 3 Truths to Help You Build Trust Without Control

40 — 3 Questions That Build Connection When Faith Divides Your Family (Part 1)

79 — Parenting Teens: 5 Words That Build Trust and Connection Fast

What do you do when a difficult conversation with your teen is going downhill fast—and then they say something that cuts straight to your heart?

In this deeply personal episode, my husband Ed takes us back to one of the hardest conversations he ever had with our teenage daughter—when hurt, frustration, and years of strained communication collided. What he chose in the middle of that moment shows how a few intentional communication choices can open the door to connection—even when a conversation feels like it’s falling apart.

If you’re parenting teens and struggling with defensiveness, disrespect, or conversations that quickly escalate, this episode gives you a real-life look at how communication skills build trust and connection even in the middle of a messy conversation.

You’ll hear:

• What made Ed realize, in the middle of a heated argument, something had to change
• How he stayed in a conversation that would have been much easier to shut down or control
• The communication shift that allowed their daughter to finally say what was really underneath her anger
• 5 communication choices Ed made when the conversation was falling apart

Ed couldn’t control what our daughter said, how she responded, or what happened next. But he could choose how he showed up. And sometimes building a stronger relationship with your teen begins right there.

Ready to stop walking on eggshells and second-guessing what to say?

Join me September 15 for my FREE live Connect With Your Teen Workshop. I’ll give you a practical, Christ-anchored roadmap to help you communicate with more confidence, restore connection, and build lasting trust.

👉 Save Your Seat: http://connectwithyourteens.com/workshop

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

💛 See What Happened Years Later With Ed & Sharaya

You heard Ed share the story on the podcast. Now you can see Ed and Sharaya sitting together years later, talking honestly about their relationship, what changed, and what they learned along the way.

👉https://riseabovethesilence.com/ed--sharaya-interview-2019

💌Want weekly encouragement straight to your in box?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for weekly parenting tips, encouragement, and support straight to your inbox Weekly Insider Newsletter

✨ Support the Podcast

If Connect With Your Teens has been helpful to you, you can now support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps with the costs of producing the show and reaching more moms with practical help and hope for their families. Thank you for being part of this work!

👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/connectwithyourteens

✨ Want to work 1:1 with me?

Book a 1-hour Communication Coaching Call. Together, we’ll identify what’s getting in the way of connection with your teen, uncover practical next steps, and create a clear plan so you can stop feeling stuck and start rebuilding trust and connection.

👉Learn More: ConnectWithYourTeens.com/communication-coaching

✨ Website: connectwithyourteens.com for free resources, practical support, and more ways to build connection and trust with your teen.

Related Episodes

Episode 94 — Why Your Teen Gets Defensive So Quickly

Episode 96 — Teen Won’t Listen to Your Advice? 4 Communication Skills That Build Trust

Episode 97 — Worried About Your Teen? How to Trust God With What You Can’t Control

You’ve had the conversation. You’ve prayed. You’ve researched. You’ve tried to help. And still, your mind keeps coming back to: What else can I do? What am I missing?

When you see your teen struggling, making choices that concern you, pulling away from their faith, or heading in a direction you desperately wish you could change, it’s hard not to feel responsible for making things better. And without realizing it, loving and supporting them can start turning into trying to control an outcome you simply can’t control.

In this episode, I’m sharing something God has been showing me in my own life about the difference between being responsible TO someone and responsible FOR their outcome—and how that distinction can change the way you parent and communicate with your teen.

You’ll learn:

• How concern for your teen can turn into control without you realizing it
• The question that can help you recognize what’s actually yours to do—and what isn’t
• What Proverbs 3:5 taught me about where I’m putting the weight of someone else’s future
• How trusting God can help you communicate with your teen without every conversation becoming about the thing you’re worried about

Trusting God with your teen doesn’t mean passive parenting. You still guide, set boundaries, seek wisdom, get help when it’s needed, and keep showing up. But you don’t have to believe that if you just say the right thing, find the right solution, or parent perfectly enough, you can guarantee the outcome. You can do what God has given you to do and trust Him with what you cannot control.

💛Want to know what you can begin doing differently to build more connection and trust with your teen?

Join me for my FREE live workshop, The Roadmap to a More Peaceful, Connected & Trusting Relationship With Your Teen.

👉Save your seat here: connectwithyourteens.com/workshop

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

✨ Visit connectwithyourteens.com for free resources, practical support, and more ways to build connection and trust with your teen.

✨ Support the Podcast

If Connect With Your Teens has been helpful to you, you can now support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps with the costs of producing the show and reaching more moms with practical help and hope for their families. Thank you for being part of this work!

👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/connectwithyourteens

✨ Want to work 1:1 with me?

Book a 1-hour Communication Coaching Call. Together, we’ll identify what’s getting in the way of connection with your teen, uncover practical next steps, and create a clear plan so you can stop feeling stuck and start rebuilding trust and connection.

👉Learn More: ConnectWithYourTeens.com/communication-coaching

💌Want weekly encouragement straight to your in box?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for weekly parenting tips, encouragement, and support straight to your inbox Weekly Insider Newsletter

Related Episodes:

5 - From “It’s Too Late To Fix This” To Having Real Conversations With Your Teen

36 - The #1 Sign You’re a Great Mom (It’s Not What You Think)

65 - 3 Lies That Sabotage Communication With Your Teen (Part 1 of 3)

You’ve spent years guiding your kids, so of course you want to share what you’ve learned when you see your teen struggling. But one of the challenges of parenting teens is realizing that as our kids grow, the way we guide them has to grow too.

Sometimes giving more advice—even really good advice—can make communication with teens harder instead of easier. And if distance or shutdown has already begun, learning a different way to guide can become an important part of rebuilding connection and learning how to build trust with your teen.

In this episode, I’m sharing four practical communication skills that can help you move from automatically giving advice to becoming someone your teen increasingly wants to come to for perspective.

You'll learn:

• The surprising reason good advice isn’t always received as helpful
• Four simple teen communication skills that help your teen think without leaving you on the sidelines
• One question you can start using right away to invite your teen to hear your perspective

We don’t have to force every lesson or control every outcome. We can grow in wisdom about when to listen, when to speak, and when to trust that God is working in our teens, too.

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

✨Ready to build more peaceful conversations, stronger connection, and lasting trust with your teen?

Join me for my FREE Connect With Your Teens Workshop on September 15th or September 22nd. Choose the time that works best for you and save your spot at

👉ConnectWithYourTeens.com/workshop.

✨ Support the Podcast

If Connect With Your Teens has been helpful to you, you can now support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps with the costs of producing the show and reaching more moms with practical help and hope for their families. Thank you for being part of this work!

👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/connectwithyourteens

💬 Not sure how to get your teen talking?

Download Quick-Start Connected Convos for simple ways to take some of the pressure out of conversations and create more opportunities for connection.

👉 Download Quick-Start Connected Convos

🤍Looking for a safe, faith-based community of moms who get it?

Come join us inside the How To Connect With Your Teens Facebook group—we’re waiting to welcome you.

👉Connect With Your Teens Facebook Group

💌Want weekly encouragement straight to your in box?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for weekly parenting tips, encouragement, and support straight to your inbox Weekly Insider Newsletter

Related Episodes:

64 - Stop Arguing With Your Teen: Let Them Have Their Perspective

77 - Why Your Teen Doesn’t Need to Change First to Build Connection

88 - The 4-Step Conversation That Helps Your Teen Feel Heard

Do you ever feel like you’d have a better relationship with your teen if you just had more time? Between work, school, sports, appointments, responsibilities, and everything else competing for your attention, it can feel almost impossible to create the kind of meaningful connection you want with your teen. But what if more time isn’t actually what you need?

In this episode, I’m talking with Sarah Colbert, host of Balanced Mom Life and mom of three teens, about how busy moms can build connection in the small moments they already have—without adding one more thing to their overflowing schedules.

You’ll discover:

• Why more time may not be the answer to building a stronger relationship with your teen
• The mistake well-meaning moms can make that unintentionally creates more distance
• How small, consistent moments can build connection—even when your teen doesn’t respond the way you hoped
• Why taking care of yourself can help you become more emotionally available and present with your family

And I love Sarah’s reminder that we don’t have to get every interaction right. We can continue showing up, planting seeds, and trusting God with what He’s doing in our teens and in our relationships—even when we can’t see the results yet. Listen in, and then share this episode with another busy mom who could use the reminder that building connection doesn’t require finding more hours in her day.

I pray this episode blesses you and your family.

~Terri

Connect with Sarah Colbert:

Download Sarah’s free Time Audit to get an honest, judgment-free look at where your time is actually going. This simple, fillable worksheet will help you identify where you can create space for what matters most — including finding your way back to you.

👉Go to https://westmetromom.com/resources

Podcast - Balanced Mom Life

✨Want some practical help creating more connection and less tension with your teen?

🎉 My next Free Connect With Your Teen Workshop is September 15th! Details are coming soon. We’ll talk about practical, Christ-centered ways to communicate with more confidence, restore connection, and build lasting trust with your teen. Details are coming soon, and I can’t wait to see you there!

💌 Want to be the first to know when registration opens?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for workshop updates, weekly encouragement, and practical communication tips delivered to your inbox.

👉Join here: Weekly Insider Newsletter

✨Check out my new website and learn more about how you can build trust and connection with your kids. connectwithyourteens.com

🤍Looking for a safe, faith-based community of moms who get it?

Come join us inside the How To Connect With Your Teens Facebook group—we’re waiting to welcome you: Connect With Your Teens Facebook Group

✨Follow or DM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terricommunicationcoach

✨Contact: support@connectwithyourteens.com

Why does your teen get defensive when you’re only asking a simple question? You ask about homework, driving, friends, or plans—and suddenly your teen is pushing back or accusing you of not trusting them. If you’re parenting teens and wondering why everyday conversations turn into conflict so quickly, there may be more happening beneath the surface than you realize.

You’ll learn: • What may really be happening underneath your teen’s defensiveness • Why your natural response may actually increase defensiveness • Simple communication skills that can change the direction of a difficult conversation

We’ll even go back to the Garden of Eden for a surprising look at defensiveness and the human heart, and I’ll share a parenting experience that changed how I understood some of my own kids’ reactions.

If you want to build trust, improve teen communication, and have more connected conversations, listen in.

Because sometimes the issue isn’t really the issue.

✨Are you ready to stop guessing what to say and start feeling more confident in the conversations that matter most?

My new website is live! You’ll find all the ways I can help you build stronger communication, trust, and connection with your teen—from private coaching and our monthly Support Group to the Connect With Your Teen Roadmap.

👉Explore your next step at connectwithyourteens.com

I pray this episode blesses you.

~Terri

✨ The Connect With Your Teens Roadmap - The step-by-step program that helps you navigate difficult conversations and create more emotional safety so you can build lasting trust and connection with your teen. You’ll learn a complete communication framework that gives you greater confidence in what to say and how to respond—not only with your teen, but in every relationship that matters.

Learn more and enroll here: https://connectwithyourteens.com/roadmap

✨ Want to work 1:1 with me?

Bring your biggest communication struggle to a 1-hour coaching call and leave with greater clarity, practical next steps, and a personalized plan to help you rebuild connection with your teen.

👉https://connectwithyourteens.com/communication-coaching

💌Would you love weekly encouragement straight to your inbox?

Become a Connect With Your Teens Insider for weekly parenting tips, encouragement, and support straight to your inbox Weekly Insider Newsletter

🤍Looking for a safe, faith-based community of moms who get it?

Come join us inside the How To Connect With Your Teens Facebook group—we’re waiting to welcome you: Connect With Your Teens Facebook Group

✨Follow or DM Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terricommunicationcoach

✨Contact: support@connectwithyourteens.com

Related Episodes:

32 - Beyond the Eye Roll: 3 Steps to Reach Your Teen’s Heart

64 - Stop Arguing With Your Teen: Let Them Have Their Perspective

79 - Parenting Teens: 5 Words That Build Trust and Connection Fast