Thank you for downloading the Focus on the Family Parenting Podcast. You can find more helpful advice at

Focus on the Family.com slash parenting podcast.

During the teen years there is so much going on.

Your child is becoming more and more like an adult and your role as a parent is becoming more and more hands off.

I hope. This is John Fuller with Danny Werta who leads our parenting and youth department here at Focus on the Family and Danny.

When a teen acts like they don't want you around is it possible that actually they do want you around?

There are moments right? There are moments where they want you around more than others.

Good qualifier there. Yeah you know they're expanding their connections.

I mean they have more friendships, they're more interests that they're exploring, more autonomy,

independence to be able to explore some of those interests.

That's very healthy and wonderful.

Sometimes that's threatening for us as parents to we take it more as rejection rather than growth.

So make sure you're processing that separating out correctly

now if a child comes and wants to connect with you you you may have a lot of things

going on as well and may not have time for that and realize the less you have time for that the less they'll come.

So I remember recently my son right before I was going to bed it was late I think it was past 11 I was ready for bed. It was late. I think it was past 11. I was ready for bed.

This is when teenagers want to talk about. That's right. You don't have teens yet.

Just get ready to lose sleep again. It was getting close to midnight. So it's closer to midnight than 11.

And he said, Dad, can I ask you something?

And he's been now very intentionally dating

this young woman and we've talked all along the way and he said

dad I just I just have some questions I don't understand this do you have a moment

...