Cynthia Muchnick is an expert in the college admission process: she got her start in admission offices before opening a private study skills and college counseling business in Southern California, which she ran for over fifteen years. Cynthia is also the co-author of “The Parent Compass”, where she dives in on better ways parents can show up and parent their teens. In this episode, Cynthia shares the importance of asking good questions and then listening to the responses in a present way in order to develop a better relationship with your teen.
Key Takeaways
- How can you be a better listener with your teen?
- There is an art to asking good questions.
- Ask creative questions to allow your teen to think and not give you back one-worded responses.
- Before embarking on writing her book, Cynthia didn't know there was a difference between hearing and listening.
- When you ask a question, you have to really listen.
- Did you know listen has the same letters as the word silent?
- It’s so important to redefine success. It shouldn’t all be based on test scores.
- Cynthia offers some creative ways to engage and hang out and play with your teens.
- How do you empower your teen to stand up for themselves?
- Ed loves Cynthia’s book. It’s a great read and is highly recommended!
“We know how to be a good friend or good coworker, but we don’t always apply it to how to be a good parent.”
“We might treat our own worse than we treat others in a very unintentional way.”
“As a parent, let’s start letting our kids have their voices heard and allow them to speak for themselves.”
