This is the direct opposite of Funny Talk. Some situations are just serious. If you think your teen is engaging in dangerous or life threatening behavior, you have probably even passed the point of Serious Talk and need a more dramatic intervention or professional help. However, there are times short of a major crisis, when serious talk should be your talk of choice.
When you are dealing with issues of fairness, basic courtesy, honesty and integrity, serious talk is necessary. That means your tone of voice, the volume of your voice and your expressions all need to convey that the topic matters to you. You aren’t just wasting your breath here. You really think this is important.
Kids always know when we are giving them a standard reply to a situation but we either don’t believe it or don’t take it very seriously. They also learn that based on what we do as well as what we say. So – make sure you use serious talk about things you can stand on when you look at your own behavior. Oh, yeah, and pimples, haircuts, girl/boyfriends, and the latest insult by a friend are all very serious to your teen. Sometimes you use Serious Talk to show that you understand how much it matters to your teen, even if it may not seem that serious to you at first glance.
We are providing a chart with certain typical teen behaviors and a space for you to decide what “type of talk” you want to try in response. It may get you thinking as you read through the types and topics. Click here to download the chart.
