How to get attention from your parents


5 ways to get your parents to really listen to you | Families

Life just feels easier when you can communicate well with your parents/carers. It can be tricky to know how to feel heard when it seems like your parents/carers aren’t listening to you. These communication tips will help you get your message across.

1. Time it right

Timing is everything. Whether you’re after some emotional support or something else, you’ve got to get the timing right. Tune into what’s going on in the family, and pick a time to talk when your parents/carers aren’t stressed or distracted by other things. It may be easier to have a conversation when you’re in the car, rather than during the morning when everyone is trying to leave the house. It also helps to start with an opener like, ‘Hey, do you have time for a chat today?’

If you’re in a crisis or need urgent help, then this doesn’t apply - just go for it.

2. Use ‘I’ statements

This one is genius. Instead of saying, ‘You don’t care about me at all’, try this: ‘I feel really upset when [insert issue here].

When you use ‘I’ statements, you’re taking responsibility for your own emotions, instead of trying to ‘blame’ them on someone else. When you use the ‘you’ word, it can make the other person feel attacked, and so they’ll be far less likely to listen to you.

The short version: ‘I’ = constructive conversation; ‘You’ = potential argument.

3. Take the pressure off

The ‘no pressure’ approach to communication can work really well. Here’s how you do it: ‘Hey, I wanted to talk to you about [insert issue here], but I don’t need an answer right now. I just want to put it out there for you to think about and get back to me when you’re ready.’

This approach can work because it’s less demanding than a straight-up request. It gives your parents/carers time to think an issue through in their own time. Plus, it shows that you’re being patient, reasonable and mature.

4. Try some active listening

If you want your parents/carers to listen to you, you kind of have to listen to them, too. Active listening is a great technique that shows others you’re listening to their point of view. Here’s how you do it:

When they say, ‘I’m sick and tired of asking you to clean your room. It’s disgusting!’, don’t jump in and interrupt them mid-sentence. Take a breath and try saying something like, ‘I hear that you really want me to clean my room. I’ll try hard to be better at that.’

When you indicate to someone that you’ve heard what they’ve said to you, it really brings down the tension in a conversation.

5. Take a break and try again

Despite all your efforts, sometimes things can just get really heated. The next time you notice a conversation with your parents/carers is heading toward an argument, stop and take a break. Collect your thoughts and think about how you’d like to be talked to. Once things have chilled out a bit, you can try again with this new strategy.

Everyone loses their cool every once in a while. If you regret something you said or did when you were angry, own up to it and say sorry. This shows that you’re willing to take responsibility for your actions, and your parents will be more likely to trust you.

If you’ve tried a few times and feel like you’re getting nowhere, think about who else you can talk to – a friend, maybe an aunty or uncle, or a teacher.

The surprising secret to getting your family's attention - instantly!

What's the most frustrating thing for you as a parent? The never-ending laundry? The constant nagging? For me, it's being ignored -- when the family communication lines are officially down! I hate it when I call the family to dinner and then wait while dinner gets cold. I hate it when I ask someone a question or suggest that they do something and get crickets in response.

The Secret to Better Family Communication

It's not like the kids (and sometimes my husband) are purposely thinking, "I am going to ignore Mom right now." It's that they don't even hear me. They are so tuned into technology that they are oblivious to the rest of the world. Sound familiar? Ready to stop the madness?

It's easy. Just pause the internet. What? Pause the internet? Is that possible? Yep. Let me tell you how!

Pause the Internet with Circle

RELATED: Positive Reinforcement Ideas for Frustrated Parents, The Best Technology Token System, Time Management Tips for Teens

*I was given a device to try in exchange for an honest Circle review. All opinions are my own. I only share products I think my readers will love!

The solution is called Circle, and it's made by Disney. This device is more than just a great internet filter. It actually allows you to pause the internet with just the touch of a button. If my daughter is playing games on the computer instead of coming when I call her, I just push a button in the Circle app, and suddenly she emerges back into the real world. If my kids are battling each other on Minecraft and ignoring my calls to dinner, I push a button, and, "Bam!" they're back!

Fortunately, when I pause the internet with circle, it looks like this:

And not like this:

Have you seen that little Dino? Don't let your kids see it. They'll play it forever!

Guess what? Pausing the internet works on any device that hooks up to the internet. (That includes your TV!) If your kids are binge watching Netflix and ignoring you, you can pause their show. With any device, if the kids are watching a video, it won't pause instantly. As much of the video that is already downloaded will continue to play. Once the show has to rebuffer or they try to turn on a new one, they will be paused. I've been testing it on my TV, and it takes about 1-2 minutes to pause.

Now that you can get your family's attention, and the family communication lines are back open, check out the other great features from Circle.

Keep Kids Safe Online

Circle is first and foremost an internet filter. When you set up Circle, the software detects all the devices in your home and adds them to the app. Within the Circle app, you set up a profile for each family member. You then assign each child's devices to their profile and set up appropriate filter levels for their age. (The filter levels include Pre-K, Kid, Teen, Adult, and None.) Within each filter level, give or deny access to specific platflorms (like Hulu, Netflix, Face Time, etc.) Block specific categories on the web and control privacy and safety by restricting ads, enabling Google Safe Search, and restricting YouTube.

Here's an example of what the kid level filters out by default: Social media, explicit content, mature content, gambling, dating, and malicious content. The teen level filters the same, but it allows social media unless you choose to filter it out (which I do).

We've actually taken the internet off of all the kids' devices because we don't feel that kids really need that access or temptation. These filters are mainly used for our family computer and laptop. If you think your kid won't accidentally stumble onto something dangerous on the internet without a filter, then you're wrong.

 

Set Online Time Limits and Bedtimes

Another cool feature of Circle is the ability to set time limits. Within each profile, you can set a time limit for the platforms you want to limit. If your kid lives for Minecraft, you can set their time to 1 hour a day (or whatever you want, within 15-min increments), and Circle will automatically cut the game off when the time is up. No nagging to turn off the game.  It just stops. No trying to add up their time throughout the day. Circle adds it up for you.

Want your kids' devices to have a bedtime? Circle can help with that, too! It's just another cool setting. (On a side note -- I'm a firm believer that no kid should have the internet in his or her bedroom. All devices are plugged in to charge in Mom and Dad's room at night. Check out my post on Setting Technology Limits for Kids for more details.)

Reward Your Kids for Good Behavior

Finally, Circle's newest feature is rewards. Now you can use the app to reward your kids for good behavior. You can choose to extend the daily time limit for the day, remove the off times for the day, or cancel the app's bedtime for the day.

Pretty cool, don't you think? But don't take my word for it, check it out yourself!

Thanks for stopping by today.

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