255. How to Rebuild Trust With Your Teen or Tween after conflict

255. How to Rebuild Trust With Your Teen or Tween after conflict

Author: Therese Connolly April 21, 2026 Duration: 13:12

Has trust been strained between you and your teen or tween?

Maybe there has been conflict.

Maybe too many arguments.

Maybe lying, secrecy, attitude, shutdown, or just that painful feeling of disconnection.

If you have been wondering how to rebuild trust with your teen without forcing conversations or making things worse, this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Single Parent Reset Show, I’m talking about what trust repair really looks like with tweens and teens.

Not just the usual advice like “talk more” or “spend quality time together.”

We are getting into the deeper work of emotional safety, consistency, repair, and the less obvious ways trust gets rebuilt over time.

I also share research-backed insight on why parent-child communication, connectedness, and emotional predictability matter so much for adolescent well-being.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

  • why trust is rebuilt more through consistency than one big emotional conversation
  • how to repair a rupture after conflict without losing your role as the parent
  • out-of-the-box ways to rebuild trust, including creating a “do-over lane,” using neutral moments for reconnection, and letting your child have a voice in the repair process

If you have been feeling discouraged, disconnected, or unsure how to reconnect with your teen or tween, this episode will help you take the next right step.

Listen in, and if this episode speaks to you, make sure to join the family by getting on my email list for more support, tools, and guidance for parenting tweens and teens with more calm, connection, and confidence.

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📧Connect with Therese (Tess) Connolly, LCSW, CCC here👇: therese@mindfulkidsandfamilies.com Website: www.mindfulkidsandfamilies.com

🆘 Need 1:1 Support? Book right here to connect with Tess for a 45-minute FREE “Parent Reset Strategy Session”: Parent Reset Strategy Session

The Single Parenting Reset Show supports single moms, working moms, and all parents with practical parenting tips on screen time, emotional regulation, co-parenting, stress relief, setting boundaries, building trust, and raising confident tweens and teens, while tackling tech addiction, behavior problems, and parent burnout with conscious parenting strategies for stronger family connection.

#singleparents #parentingtweensandteens #ScreenTime #behaviorproblems #Communication


Navigating the tween and teen years alone comes with a unique set of daily tests, from managing defiance to negotiating screen time in a connected world. Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens is here for that journey. Hosted by Therese Connolly, a licensed clinical social worker and family coach, this podcast moves beyond theory to offer actionable steps you can use immediately. Therese draws on both professional expertise and a genuine understanding of the solo parent reality, where you’re the only one setting boundaries and mending fences. Conversations focus on turning behavioral challenges into opportunities for growth, finding realistic ways to pull kids from their devices, and fostering a home where communication actually works. You’ll hear strategies for building your own confidence as a parent while strengthening your family’s connections, all without the sugar-coating. This is a space for single moms and dads seeking real-life support, where every episode aims to provide a practical reset for the week ahead. Tune in for a blend of compassionate guidance and concrete tools designed specifically for the solo parent raising adolescents.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Single Parenting Reset Show: For Solo Parents of Tweens and Teens — Manage Behavior Problems, Reduce Screen Time & Improve Communication
Podcast Episodes
286. Teen Won’t Go to School? What to Say That Morning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:51
Your teen looks at you and says:“I’m not going to school.”Before you argue, lecture, threaten consequences, or immediately agree to let them stay home, pause.What you say next can either increase the power struggle—or he…
284. Teen Lying: What To Say When They Deny Or Blame [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:57
What do you say when your teen looks you in the eye and denies something you feel almost certain happened?What if they blame a friend, a sibling, a teacher, or their other parent?When you believe your teenager is lying,…
283. Teen Lying: What to Do and How to Rebuild Trust [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:35
Has your teen ever looked you directly in the eye and told you something you knew was not true?Teen lying can make you question more than the story your teen is telling you. It can make you question your relationship, yo…
280. What to Do When Your Teen Breaks Screen Time Rules [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:01
You created the rule.You explained the reason.Your teen may have even agreed to it.But now they are still scrolling after bedtime, refusing to stop gaming, bypassing parental controls, or sneaking the phone back into the…
278. How to Limit Screen Time for Teenagers Without Constant Fights [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:19
Is screen time the battle that keeps showing up in your home?Maybe your teen is on their phone late at night. Maybe gaming turns into an argument every time you ask them to stop. Maybe social media, YouTube, texting, or…
277. How to Limit Screen Time for Tweens Without Daily Battles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:55
Is screen time already becoming a daily battle in your home?If your 10-, 11-, or 12-year-old argues every time screens end, asks constantly for more time, sneaks devices, or says “everyone else gets to,” you are not alon…