Bridging the Gap Between Teens and Parents

March 28, 2006 — -- Do you ever feel your teenager doesn't show you enough respect?

A new survey from Seventeen magazine finds the feeling is often mutual with 41 percent of teens saying their parents show them disrespect at least a few times a month.

Atoosa Rubenstein, Seventeen's editor in chief, said it was important to show teens respect because kids are different than they used to be because of empowering influences such as the Internet, teen magazines, and marketers targeting teens.

"Kids are more self-possessed, more goal-oriented, but it also brings complications," Rubenstein said. "These days you can talk to a 13-year-old and he or she sounds like an 18-year-old. Parents still want to treat their kids like they're kids, but they need to give them more of the kind of respect they give adults. This can be confusing and difficult for parents."

Rubenstein said there were common ways parents showed their children disrespect:

She recommended the following ways for parents to heal the rift with their teens: