Tuesday Tips: Parenting Tweens with JoAnn Schauf

JoAnn Schauf founded Your Tween and You, writes her blog, The Tween Times, coaches parents and adolescents, and speaks at conferences and to parent groups. After earning her Master of Science in Counseling, she worked as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital and served as a counselor in secondary schools and colleges.  Her interactions with parents of tweens, who were confounded by their children’s burgeoning adolescence and the influence of technology, led her to write her best-selling book Loving the Alien, How to Parent Your Tween. As the parent of four, she experienced the same challenges and frustrations! JoAnn lives in Austin, Texas and spends her free time volunteering and on the beach in California. You can reach her at yourtweenandyou.com   Summary Introductions and background @ 0:00 JoAnn Schauf shares her background, starting as a fashion major but then transitioning to psychology and counseling. She opened her own business, Your Tween and You, about 6 years ago to help parents navigate the challenges of raising tweens. The challenges of parenting tweens @ 2:04 JoAnn discusses the common challenges parents face when their children transition from happy, compliant kids to more distant, independent tweens. She explains the "trio of trials" tweens face - puberty, identity search, and underdeveloped decision-making skills - that contribute to this challenging phase. Importance of parent-child connection @ 6:00 Michael and JoAnn emphasize the importance of parents staying present and connected with their tweens, even when the kids seem disinterested. Sharing stories, asking open-ended questions, and spending quality time together can help maintain the relationship. Strategies for effective communication @ 23:54 JoAnn provides specific tips for how parents can improve communication with their tweens, such as asking open-ended questions to get the full story rather than yes/no questions that shut down conversation. Resources and next steps @ 25:06 JoAnn shares information about her website, blog, and coaching services to help parents of tweens. She and Michael conclude by discussing the importance of raising happy, healthy children who will become future leaders.