Stay Connected
Enhancing Parent-Teen Relationships

Stay Connected promotes good communication, positive interactions, and productive problem solving among teens and their parents. Stay Connected combines research-based information with hands-on activities for educating teens and parents about themselves and their relationships. Self-guided materials for parents and teens also are available. The Stay Connected curriculum is offered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, a statewide educational outreach organization offering research-based programming to all segments of Alabama’s population and in all 67 counties.

Tools for Educators Use the Stay Connected materials separately with groups of teens or parents as well as with groups that include both parents and teens. Parents learn: The value of including their teens’ views in family decisions. How to change rules and limits as their teens mature. Ways to keep the lines of communication open. The value of parent-teen arguments and strategies for reducing parent-teen conflict. Ways to talk openly with their teens about sensitive topics. Why it is important to support and accept their teens even when they don’t agree with all of their teens’ views or choices. Teens learn: The benefits of showing respect to their parents. Why responsible behavior is important and how irresponsibility can limit teens’ opportunities and privileges. The importance of rules and why different families have different rules. The value of parent-teen arguments and strategies for reducing parent-teen conflict. Ways to talk openly with parents and other knowledgeable adults about sensitive topics. The value of spending time and engaging in activities with their parents.

Hands-on activities help parents and teens learn new ways of relating. The Good Times Game encourages teens and parents to recall positive experiences with each other. Overcome the Obstacle addresses ways to handle common conflicts between parents and teens. The Fish Bowl helps reduce the anxiety parents and teens may feel about discussing sensitive topics. The Web of Connection helps parents and teens recognize each others’ accomplishments, reinforce the idea that the family is a support system for each member, and promote the feeling of success within the family.

Self-Guided Activities for Parents and Teens The Parent-Teen Activity Series handouts offer ideas about ways you can spend time together doing activities you both enjoy. Examples of these self-guided activities include the following: Movie Marathon Cooking Together A Day at the Park Electronic Family Album Game Night Gardening Night on the Town Book Group A Puzzling Possibility Camping Trip Message Center To view all of the parent-teen activities, go to www.aces.edu/teens/stayconnected/outsessionactivities.htm.

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.