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Preteen Conversations Start to Look Like the Rainbow

The Rainbow is one of the most interesting phenomenons to me. The sun actually shining on raindrops causes you to see an incredible piece of beauty right before your eyes. The rainbow is a cool illustration for me to use for parents that have a preteen. Because they are right in the middle of two totally different worlds.

You’ve probably noticed if you have a teenager, that the conversations are fewer, less detailed, and sometimes feel it’s as forced as the last bit of toothpaste in the bottle. However, you remember the days that your kid, who now seems more like a martian, used to want to tell story after story about the caterpillar that wandered across the branch onto the tree trunk. 2 hours later, they’ve moved into creating some sort of elaborate talent show in which they are the only participant.

The conversations change. They are different. They feel weird.

But as you could see conversations with kids like a storm of information, drama, and intensity. They light up the dull of your night with extreme excitement, laughter, and some really interesting noises! But ultimately during and afterwards you are wondering how all that came from one kid at one time.

But everything looks different with your teen.

Yeah there’s darkness. And fury, maybe even evil. The stories are few and far between with your teenager. But don’t ever stop pushing forward. Because in the midst of the storm, the rainbow could burst through the darkness with a single moment of enlightenment. God pushing through the gray and bursting into a moment of epiphany.

I was talking with a dad today that was sharing a story of his son having a breakthrough in the middle of a breakdown. And he talked about the beauty and thanks for what Christ was doing in his son’s life. But it’s one moment in weeks, months, and years of prayerful conversations.

So as your preteens begin to look totally different than the fond memory you have of them in their own productions. Treasure the rainbow. They are rare, but they are so incredibly beautiful, and yet so short lived.

To me kids are like storms, consistent pressure with so much excitement, but there are few things like a breakthrough moment with a teen.

If you aren’t willing to weather the storm, you’ll miss the rainbow.

So for parents of preteens, just know that the storms will continue and it might look more dreary than ever, but you always must look for God’s promise in the midst of your preteen’s and teen’s stuff. Treasure those small, fleeting moments of bliss where they get it, know what they need to do and have a plan to move forward.