The Parent-Teen Connection: How to Build Lifelong Family Relationships

by Susan Caso

Teens need their parents now more than ever. Parents are the central influence in their teens' life and have an incredible ability to reassure and comfort them in times of distress. Right now a teen’s world is filled with social media noise and achievement pressures, resulting in high rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. But hope exists. A parent’s ability to support their teen during the current milieu can be shaped by the emotional bond in their relationship.



Licensed therapist Susan Caso provides valuable insights and proven strategies to cultivate a “felt connectedness” in the family. As a clinician and a mom of three amazing kids, Susan knows raising teens can be met with growing pains, strife, and disconnection. The path to engagement and harmony at home can be baffling, but with new communication tools, Susan guides parents to build trust with their teens to overcome any obstacle. To strengthen the parent-teen relationship and safeguard your kids in today's world, your first resource is The Parent-Teen Connection.

237 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2024

About the author

When I was fourteen, my parents and I found ourselves at odds. We were trapped in a power struggle with no one winning, headed for disaster. My parents’ attempt to gain control blew up in our faces, creating more pain and frustration. As the rules and boundaries increased, so did my rebellion — making life miserable for all of us.

Thankfully, my mom had the insight to contact a family counselor and seek help. At first, I was skeptical and even rebellious. But once we met the therapist, I was pleasantly surprised. I remember thinking, “Wow, this could really work.” For the first time I felt someone heard me, understood my feelings, and let me have a voice.

This experience changed my life. It helped to resolve the power struggles with my parents, helped me through my teenage years and gave me life skills to become who I am today.

It was such a powerful experience for me that I knew this was my life’s work – providing a safe space where others could be vulnerable and heard in working through difficult times. My personal experience, education and training has helped me become a counselor who values relationships. I now see how the connections between family members and other significant people in our lives contributes to our functioning, day to day.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Licensed therapist Susan Caso provides valuable insights and proven strategies to cultivate a “felt connectedness” in the family. As a clinician and a mom of three amazing kids, Susan knows raising teens can be met with growing pains, strife, and disconnection. The path to engagement and harmony at home can be baffling, but with new communication tools, Susan guides parents to build trust with their teens to overcome any obstacle. To strengthen the parent-teen relationship and safeguard your kids in today's world, your first resource is The Parent-Teen Connection.

“You aren’t free to be transparent about your feelings or be who you are at your core when trust doesn’t exist. The same is true for how your teen feels.”

💬While I consider myself a confident parent, I also recognize that there’s always room for growth and new things to learn and incorporate into parenting. I believe the advice and insights in this book are valuable for any age, and the earlier they’re applied, the better.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a parent who hopes for the best yet prepares for the rest and even the worst, I found 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 - 𝘛𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 to be exceptionally resourceful and insightful. I currently do not have any teens but was once one and can attest to the communication barriers listed inside this book that have plagued my adolescent years. Cultivating connectedness is even more challenging now in today’s hyper-connected world and with an acute interest in parenting, I seek to put a stopper on any further disconnect down the generational line, especially when kids often mirror their parents. Strengthening and safeguarding the bond between a parent and teen is often overlooked but I know it to be most crucial and not without positive ramifications.

Inside you will find easy-to-follow charts, helpful bulletin points, relevant stories, and questions to reflect on at the end of every chapter. My favorite parts were on 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵, and 𝘌𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. The breakdown on parent - teen interaction, from trigger to volley, was also an illuminating and practical chapter. There were countless takeaways to which I’ve happily highlighted many key concepts. With that I am convinced this is worth buying in hardback. Thank you to the author, I have learned much more than I bargained for - this type of enrichment is truly priceless to me.

Thank you Radius Book Group and GetRedPR for my advance review copy.

[Karla Rendon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attn: All Parents with Teens at home!! This right here was so important to me as a mother of three that will soon have teenagers it was so resourceful in a sense where communication is key! As teens grow and get older a lot of current events that happen in the world that influence our children especially social media! It is incredibly important to know how your child is feeling and as a parent being able to create a safe place for your teens! Therefore having the necessary resources and tools to ensure your child is safe and loved in the household is key to a healthy relationship between your child.

I enjoyed reading this book it helped me understand how to make sure that my children are safe and there wellbeing is my number one priority. Helped me understand and identify cues that can help me understand when my child is in need of my help and that communication and listening is essential to a beautiful healthy relationship with my children.

I definitely recommend this book to help others to understand the essential principles of self care and how to manage stress in your children’s lives.

[sammi_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main themes to this book were about establishing a home full of communication and trust with your children/teens, one where they feel they belong and can be listened to. All absolutely excellent things to strive for. To me, a lot of it seemed obvious, especially today with the way social media has pushed current parenting trends. However, sometimes the obvious needs to be said and read.

I guess a lot of this, although true, felt dated and generic. I found myself checking the back to see the author's picture, because I wondered if she was older, but was surprised to see she looked younger than I expected.

All of that being said, I still think things like this are useful to read going into conversations with teens so you can try to keep some perspective with your approach. Anything to help. It can be so tough, so just having that extra reminder said in the right way is perfect.

Thank-you so much to both Get Red PR and the author for my free advanced reader copy. My review is unbiased and opinions my own.

[Jeanette Bowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend! An invaluable resource to guide parents in easy, fun and effective ways to connect with their children. Especially valuable for us who never received healthy connection with our own parents growing up. The stories and examples often brought me to tears but then I was quickly filled with hope as this book maps out a better way. Let’s face it- teens are often hard to reach. This book has helped me stop the struggle, opened communication, and created a feeling of connectedness in our family that I never felt was possible. Added bonus- it has even had a profound effect on my ability to connect with my spouse, coworkers and friends!

[Jessica Space · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mom for a upcoming teen, this is an extremely helpful resource to have in navigating the upcoming years ahead.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is packed with advice and guidance on how to develop and foster a connection with your children as they navigate the teen years. I found this book insightful and helpful, especially on the topics of communicating, social media, and how there is a time for us to be the parent (guiding, staying on task, etc.) and a time where we should just be mom and dad and bond with our kids.

I’ve already started putting her advice into practice and I feel like it’s working. The information is easily digestible and the summary after each chapter is useful. This is a book you can pick up and revisit when you need a parenting refresher.

[John Andreula · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Parent-Teen Connection empowered me to improve my relationship with my child.
I also reflected on my own upbringing & my relationship with my parents & how that affected my own parenting & reactions, particularly my negative ones.
This was a very good book. I recommend it to anyone who wants to break their own repeating cycle of generational trauma.