Relationship Role-Play Activities for Teen Girls

Conflict Resolution

• With their brains still developing and their hormones raging, teens aren't always the most reasonable people to deal with, especially when there's conflict involved. Help your teen develop a clear-eyed approach to conflict resolution by showing her that she should keep her emotions out of the discussion. This is a skill that will help her deal with conflict at school and, eventually, in the workplace. Role-play a scenario where she wants to borrow the car to drive her friends to a party. Have the adult tell her that she's not ready for a distracting drive with partying teens. Role-play once with her natural reaction. Next, help her formulate arguments that don't involve the parent trying to ruin her life or being unfair. You can also role-play embarrassing or annoying situations with teachers or friends, based on experience she or one of her friends has had. Show her how to deal with the situation without resorting to yelling or accusations.

Abuse

• Your daughter may be better at spotting the abuse in other people's relationships than dealing with any abusive truths about her own relationship. Start by talking to her about things she doesn't like about her friends' relationships. Ask about red flags like possessiveness, jealousy, physical abuse, ridicule or isolating someone from her friends. She may not even register possessiveness or verbal abuse as problems. Pick some of the red flags of dating abuse and role-play them. Ask your daughter how she'd react if a boy wanted her to dress differently or stop seeing certain friends. Role-play those situations so, if they come up, she'll have a ready-made response.

Drunk Driving

• Even though she is too young to drink, your daughter may find herself in a situation where her date is too drunk to drive home. You can help her role-play the situation so she can find a few ways to comfortably resolve such a dangerous situation. Have her and a friend or family member act out a scenario where her date gets behind the wheel. Have the person playing the date react in different ways to her intervention: hostile, whiny, stubborn, for instance, so she can gain experience dealing with different reactions. You should repeat the scenario until she feels confident that she can deal with the situation.

Sexual Pressure

• Although you may feel awkward, role-playing a situation about sexual pressure can be a great help to teenage girls. It's a chance to remind them that there is a difference between sex and love and that there are other ways to express affection. It may make her more comfortable is you role-play two friends talking about sexual pressure. You can also role-play a boy and girl discussing it, with the boy pressuring the girl. Work together to come up with different ways to respond to unwelcome pressure. She should think of different physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual reasons why she may want to wait. Reinforce the idea that sex is a serious step and the decision shouldn't be made in a split second in the back seat of a car.