Do you have conflict (冲突) with others? Why does conflict happen? Maybe it happens when two people disagree because of their own opinions, or beliefs (信仰). It’s not always as simple as an argument.

Parents and teenagers have many chances to have conflict with one another. Adolescence (青春期) is a time when independence and parental influence fight, since teens are able to think on their own but still live with parents who have rules and expectations for them. When kids don’t show up at home late at night, their parents get worried. A worried parent becomes a scolding parent. When the teen does come home, he/she will get punishment (处罚).

Sometimes, teens want to have noisy fun while their parents want to sleep. This is a common conflict that happens every day. Parents might use the teenager’s grades to judge (判断) him/her every time the grades are reported. The conflict happens when the parents’ expectations aren’t met. Finding the causes of conflicts is the first step to solve the conflict. Here are a few tips for parents and teenagers to use.

View each other as friends in the common goals (目标) you agree on, which usually include keeping teens safe and seeing them be successful.

List (列举) possible solutions to the conflict together. Just start listing creative ideas, whether they seem reasonable or not. Creativity is your friend when you’re solving any problems in life, including conflicts with others.