How to Get Your Teen to Actually Listen

How to Get Your Teen to Actually Listen

Author: Mark Gregston May 7, 2026 Duration: 27:16

Do your conversations with your teen turn into debates, shutdowns or eye rolls? In this episode, Mark, Wayne and Heartlight Counselor Courtney LaFleur explore why teens often resist opinions, but still deeply need your wisdom. Learn how to replace lectures with perspective, listen in ways that draw your teen out, and use your life experiences to guide rather than control. You’ll also hear a powerful student story of healing, growth and the kind of communication that rebuilds trust. Because when teens feel understood, they’re far more willing to hear you.

Get tips to becoming the listener your teen needs at bit.ly/listen-to-your-teen

Parenting Today's Teens is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be, visit parentingtodayteens.org.


Raising a teenager can feel like navigating uncharted territory every single day. Parenting Today's Teens is here to walk that path with you, offering a steady voice amid the chaos. Mark Gregston brings more than four decades of direct experience working with families to each conversation, translating complex adolescent behaviors into understandable insights. You’ll hear honest discussions about defiance, screen time, emotional withdrawal, and the search for identity, all framed with a perspective that is both pragmatic and hopeful. This isn’t about quick fixes or perfect formulas; it’s about building a lasting, authentic connection with your teen even when it’s difficult. Mark’s approach is grounded in real-world application, offering strategies you can consider and adapt the very same day. The podcast draws from a well of wisdom that respects the spiritual and personal growth of the entire family, recognizing that parenting a teen often means revisiting your own beliefs and reactions. Tune in for a resource that feels like a thoughtful conversation with a trusted guide, one that acknowledges the struggles while consistently pointing toward practical solutions and renewed understanding for the modern parent.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Parenting Today's Teens
Podcast Episodes
What Your Teen Needs Most from You, Dad [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:36
What kind of impact does a father really have on a teen’s life? In this episode, Mark, Wayne and Heartlight Counselor Courtney LaFleur talk about the unique and powerful role dads play in shaping their teens’ identity, c…
A Parent’s Greatest Challenge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:45
Are you trying to guide your teen? Or just frustrated by the culture they’re growing up in? In this episode, Mark shares what may be the greatest challenge parents face today: staying connected in a rapidly changing worl…
Teen Stories: The Battle to Be Understood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:10
Behind every broken rule or secret kept, there’s often a story of a teen who just wants to be seen. In today’s episode, Mark sits down with two young ladies at Heartlight who open up about their struggles with honesty, t…
Raising Socially Awkward Teens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:57
Is your teen struggling to connect with others or retreating into screens instead of real relationships? In this episode, Mark, Wayne and Heartlight Counselor Courtney LaFleur talk about what’s behind social awkwardness…
When Your Teen Thinks Differently Than You [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:20
What’s shaping your teen’s beliefs, and why do they sometimes latch onto ideas that create tension at home? In this episode, Mark and Wayne unpack how today’s teens are influenced by culture, peers and a deep desire to b…
When Helping Hurts: Teaching Teens to Carry Their Own Load [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:17
Are you helping your teen — or holding them back? In this episode, Mark shares a powerful story about a young adult unprepared for real life, and the well-meaning parenting that led her there. Drawing from Galatians 6:5,…
Teen Stories: Feeling the Pressure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:53
When teens seem to have it all — good grades, bright smiles, great families — it's easy for parents to assume things are fine. But what if that perfect image is masking deeper struggles? In today's episode, Mark talks wi…
Breaking Patterns, Building Trust & Beating Boredom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:22
As summer break draws closer, we’re revisiting an episode with Mark and Wayne about setting your teen up for success. Boredom isn’t harmless — it can open the door to unhealthy habits if teens lack structure and purpose.…