Talking to Your Teen

When my son was about 11, I sat him down, looked him in the eye, and said the following: "In a year or so, something is going to happen to me. I am going to seem to have lost my mind and I will get dumber and dumber, at least in your eyes, and that no matter what, I won't seem to be able to understand what you're going through. But don't worry, some day I will be back. It's only a temporary trip, I promise." My son's eyes teared up, and he said: "Oh, no, Dad. That could never happen to you." He's nearly 16 now, and on those days when I sense he's feeling that I've slipped into that "you don't understand" mode, I remind him of that conversation. We laugh and the atmosphere lightens and we usually can talk through an issue. It's one conversation I'm glad we had when the time was right.