How to Hype Your Teenagers

It’s not easy to parent teenagers any more than it’s easy for teachers to teach them. Adolescence is a lot like gravity: you can’t fight it, so you may as well work with it! A lot of the time, people hear about the teenager stage and roll their eyes because the idea of dealing with teenager feelings is a slog. But you know what? We were ALL teenagers at one point and more than anyone, you are the best person to know what teenagers go through.

Teenage years and puberty are all a part of life, and they’re going to go through it anyway. Instead of making it hard for them, you have to learn to be their hype person and that means doing whatever possible to make them feel good about themselves. While you can go the whole hog with custom trophies and make their celebration a reality every day, you can also do it in ways that are so much more subtle than that. Adults can easily work with teenagers and be a part of their hype, too, so let’s take a closer look at how you can hype up your teenager and make them feel good.

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1. Ask how they are. The simplest way to show your teenagers a little hype is just by asking them how they are. They may not always be receptive to you, but it can help to show that you are willing to ask in the first place because it shows you’re willing to connect. Never underestimate the power of a connection with your teenager because you’re going to immediately improve their engagement as a result.

2. Make it obvious. We mentioned custom trophies earlier as a satirical way to show that you are hyping them up but sometimes, little prizes are super worth it. Trophies customized to their chores and handed out weekly when they’re achieving everything is a great way to have a giggle with your teenager and show them that you see the effort they put in. They are consistently doing what’s right, which means that you get to show them you can see it.

3. Give them a chance to teach you. Adults often feel threatened by teenagers because there is an information gap that exists between the generations. Don’t be intimidated by it. Teenagers are growing up in a world that’s different from yours and that’s how it’s supposed to be. You don’t have to know everything, and they’re going to show you that. Rather than feel like you should be impressing upon your teen that you know it all, you can easily showcase that you care by actively listening to them talk.

4. Get into their  culture. Pop culture, Anime culture, all teen culture? It can sound like a foreign language to some but for you, it will be your new mission to learn it. Culture is important to your teenager so you need to embed yourself into it and learn it yourself. When you connect on that level, you can find that you can relate to your teenager. You don’t have to have an opinion on everything, and you don’t even have to like the things they like, you just have to be interested for them to feel hyped up and recognised.

5. Do something active. No one likes to sit around and much like puppies, teenagers are packed with nervous energy. Because of the development processes that teenagers go through, they need to be out and feeling happy and you can do that together as a family. Sure, have a conversation and a heart to heart on how they feel, but do it as part of an outdoor activity. Get out into nature for a hike, go surfing or play on the beach, make a point of joining a team.

6. Get your teenagers performing. Some teenagers love to have the world revolve around them and you know what, it’s okay for them to feel like that sometimes! Rather than tell them they’re not the sun, get them in the center of it all and let them showcase the things that they love to do. If they love to perform, do it. If they love to be in the middle and showing their talents, give them room to do it. 

7. Show your teens you trust them. A great way to hype up your teenager is to make it clear that yes, you do trust their judgment and that they know what they’re doing. Be an equal partner in their freedom and in their ability to go out into the world. Stringent curfews may not be the one.