How to Keep Teenagers Quiet During a Meeting

When you are the parent of a teen, flexibility is the name of the game: Schedules change, plans fall through and life can generally get messy. Sometimes you end doing having to cart your teen to a meeting that you were supposed to attend solo. While this can be an inconvenience, communication and planning help you maintain a professional appearance and a quiet teenager.

Instructions

    • 1

      Discuss the meeting topic with your teen before you attend so he will have a vague sense of what the meeting is about. Explain why you need to attend the meeting, approximately how long it should be and who will be there. If the meeting is personal in nature and might cover sensitive topics, make sure your teen is aware before he hears them in the meeting.

    • 2

      Tell your teen your expectations for her behavior. Rather than telling her to ̶0;behave,̶1; give her specifics that you want or do not want to see. If the use of a phone or other electronic device is acceptable, give her guidelines such as no talking on phone, loud reactions to content on it or listening to sound without headphones.

    • 3

      Introduce your teen to your manager or host before the meeting starts, explain to them why your teen is there and ask them where they would like your teen to sit if he is not going to participate in the meeting. Ask that your teen is introduced at the beginning of the meeting so no one wonders who he is.

    • 4

      Assign your teen a task to help you, whether to hand you papers, take notes or run your computer files during your multimedia presentation. Tell everyone that she will be assisting you, address her by her name, thank her and generally treat her as you would a peer. If your teen cannot help you, have your her work on homework, read a book, journal, sketch, use her phone or help someone else with tasks.

    • 5

      After the meeting is over, ask your teen to give you his thoughts on the subjects covered. Tell him that you appreciate his help and the way he was respectful to everyone and their time, or what you would like him to work on next time if he has to attend a meeting with you. If you hear feedback after the meeting, share it with your teen.

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