When you say, “You shouldn’t do that,” to a teenager, your feedback is likely to be met with an eye roll. By the time kids turn into teens, they don’t think they need much help from adults—especially their parents.
But, just because your teen doesn’t appreciate your words of wisdom, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t offer your advice. Constructive criticism can be essential to your teen’s well-being.
Your teen needs to know how to improve his social skills.
He’ll need guidance on steps he could take to be healthier. He’ll need your advice on how he can improve his chances of success. There are many reasons why you should give your teen constructive criticism.
It’s important for your teen to be able to hear constructive criticism without automatically becoming defensive or argumentative. His future boss, college professors, and partner will likely give him constructive criticism from time to time. Being able to hear those words—and apply them—could help him become a better person.
But before he can take that advice, he’ll have to be open to listening to it. Then, he’ll need to be able to evaluate that advice and be open to changing his behavior.
Every time you give your teen constructive criticism, you give him an opportunity to grow and change. You also give him an opportunity to practice handling feedback from others.
Critiquing your teen’s performance, whether you’re giving feedback on how he filled out his job application, or you’re telling him what you noticed during his baseball game, is important.
Pointing out mistakes in a gentle manner can help your teen see that mistakes aren’t something he should be ashamed of.
Instead, you can use it as an opportunity to show him how to bounce back from failure by turning his mistakes into a learning opportunity.