101 CONVERSATION STARTERS FOR MOMS OF TEENAGE BOYS

You know the awkwardness of sitting next to your teenage son and it's just....quiet?

I mean you're doing a little dance inside because he's actually sitting next to you. But you're stumped as to what to say. As it is, you're probably walking on thin ice around him. But you want to have a conversation with him right now, since he's right there and you're mentally scrolling through a list of things to say. And part of you is afraid it'll disrupt whatever it is that's going on right here.

But the urge to say something is strong. You definitely don't want to come on too serious. Or too nosy. And you most definitely don't want to start a lecture he didn't ask for.

So you say nothing. He's on his phone. You go back to yours.

And you sit there wondering when exactly this happened. When did talking to your own son start feeling like a job interview for a job nobody wants.

Grab the "What Do I Even Say?" full deck here. For Moms Of Teen Boys Instant download!

The thing nobody tells you about parenting teenage boys is that they don't do conversations the way we do. They don't really want to be asked how their day was. They don't want to sit down for a serious talk. And the absolute second it feels like they're being interviewed, the shutters come down and you've lost them.

But here's what I've figured out after raising a teenage boy myself, they do talk. Just not like we do. Or to better put it, not exactly how we think they do or should.

Teen boy communication works completely different to ours.

They open up when it feels accidental. When there's no pressure. When there's no wrong answer and nobody's waiting to react to what they say.

That's the secret to connecting with your teenage son. You stop forcing a conversation. You stop trying to have 'the conversation' and you just...start with a smaller one.

And sometimes the hardest part of that isn't the willingness. It's just not knowing what to actually say.

That's honestly what gave me the idea for this. I put together 101 conversation starters specifically for moms and their teenage boys. Because if you're a teen boy mom, you know that generic parenting teenage tips don't really cut it.

What works for daughters doesn't always work for sons. What worked when they were ten definitely doesn't work now.

These questions are not questions you get at therapy. At least I don't think so. They're not the kind of thing that makes him roll his eyes before you've even finished the sentence.

Grab the "What Do I Even Say?" full deck here. For Moms of Teen Boys Instant download!

These are just real, genuine questions that will get your son to open up. To show you the parts of them you never even knew were there.

Some are silly. Some go a little deeper. Some of them are honestly just good conversation starters for teenage boys who need the pressure completely off before they'll say anything real.

My son loves questions like these. Just one question could end up being a two-hour-long conversation. Just me and him hanging out. And I secretly get the honor of listening to all the thoughts that go on in that beautiful mind of his. I absolutely love these long conversations with him. And sometimes, he'll even come back the next day and say, "you know you asked about thing that last night"?....and the conversation continues because he's had time to think about it. Love it!

In this deck, that'll hopefully give you that same experience, there's even a whole section where he gets to ask you the questions.

That one changes the dynamic in a way that's hard to explain until you try it. It's one of the best ways I've found to improve your relationship with your teenage son. Just let him lead for once.

So if you've been feeling that distance and you're wondering how to connect with your teenage son again, this is a good place to start.

No awkward silences. No forced chats.

Just 101 little doorways into his world.

Grab the "What Do I Even Say?" full deck here. For Moms Of Teen Boys Instant download!

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