What Teens Need From Their Parents: "I Love You"

As kids go through making the process of adolescence, they tend to crave more from their parents. They would still need your help on certain matters as they grow, and they need a strong foundation they can only see in their parents. Although according to Greater Good, many teens tend to reject their parents.

However, a study, "When do Adolescents Feel Loved? A Daily Within-Person Study of Parent-Adolescent Relations," suggests helpful tips for making teens feel loved even in conflict. John Coffey, a psychologist, and his colleagues surveyed more than 150 teens aged 13-16 and their parents. Mostly white and living in two-parent households in the United States for 21 days.

Warmth in the study referred to praise, understanding, and affection parents showed toward their teenage children that day and determined that every evening, the parent, usually the mother, sustained a survey about warmth and conflict in the relationship with the child. Teens were also asked a single question each evening: "How much they felt loved by their parents that day."

The researchers found that youth usually felt loved at moderate to high levels, along with fluctuations over the 21 days. They also discovered that on some days, several teens felt not at all loved by their parents.

Teens cannot feel love during a conflict

The study determined that teens felt more loved on days when their parents appeared to be kind and showed more warmth and felt less loved on a day when there was an argument or conflict. However, the study discovered that teens do not mind the conflict if the parents are warmer and fulfill the teenager's day with warmth. Thus, being affectionate towards juveniles seemed to protect against the cost of conflict.

Coffey and his colleagues claimed that such findings are salient due to the emotional experiences of young ones, as they can influence their coping skills and behavior in ways that affect their well-being in the long term. When they feel less loved for an extended period, they tend to be at greater risk for mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

Additionally, the study can help parents recognize teen behavior and what the young need daily to strengthen the parent-teen relationship. This might include offering a hug or showering them with compliments and praise. Emotional love can be seen through hugs and affection and can hugely impact relationships, even those with a close, long-term relationships. Parents must know how to maintain a complicated relationship.

Teens still need love, support, encouragement, nurture, and attention, per Family Lives.

Love and affection are necessary for teenagers

Parents and teens should practice maintaining a healthy relationship by finding small ways to give and receive warmth each day, as it will help nurture love between them. These moments help parents and teens to remind themselves that they are loved. Even saying "I love you" can mean so many things; hence, it would sound unusual for teens who are not affectionate; thus, it must be practiced from the start.

Spending time with teenage kids can also be one of the ways to maintain and strengthen the relationship as parents would also get to know their child while also making an unforgettable moment with them, Paradigm Treatment says.