Why do parents have such a difficult time to communicate openly and honestly with their teens? For this, there are many reasons but most of them stem from not being able to properly understand their teens. It is a dangerous gap because parents will have to communicate with their teens about a wide variety of issues during the most important years of their lives. Thus, parents must know how to communicate openly and honestly with their teens.
Here are a few tips to make communication easier between parents and teenagers.
1. Try not to talk down to your teens. Make them feel as if their views really matter, which not only helps your discussions with your teen but bring you closer to him.
2. Imagine what it would be like to be a teen. Try to remember some of the negative feelings you experienced as a teenager and apply it to your teen's situation.
3. Never make negative remarks to your teen about what he has said or done.
4. Remember how much courage it would have taken for your teen to come and talk to you about his personal issues. So listen respectfully.
5. Don't ignore your teen's feelings because it is usually a cry for help. For instance, if your teen is unusually angry, it may be time to spend a bit of quality time with your teen to determine what is wrong and where he is coming from.
It is, therefore, necessary for parents to strive to keep lines of communication open at all times with their teens. Try to remember what it was like to be a teenager and how vulnerable（脆弱的）you felt. Then you will be well on your way to help your teen communicate more openly and honestly.
17．Why don't teens want to talk about their personal issues with their parents?
A. Because they can't respect their parents.
B. Because they can't understand their parents.
C. Because their parents won't understand them well.
D. Because their parents are not honest.
18．When your son comes to you for help, you should NOT _____.
A. listen respectively B. treat him seriously
C. care about his feeling D. make negative remarks
19．Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined phrase “talk down to”?
A. put down B. look down upon
C. chat with D. quarrel with
20．The best title for this passage is _____.
A. Causes of generation gap
B. Relations between teens and parents
C. Suggestions for parents-children effective communication
D. Problems with communication between teens and parents