Supporting Parents to Guide Teen Character Development

How do parents guide teens to develop the character strengths that will prepare them for meaningful lives? By gaining the knowledge and skills that will strengthen their parent-teen bonds and position them to influence their adolescents in a way that launches them into adulthood prepared to be their better selves while caring for and about others. Character development starts at home through loving relationships and effective parenting. Yet many parents of adolescents question whether they still matter. Messages about parenting adolescents imply it is a “time to survive.” This narrative disempowers parents’ engagement in their teens’ lives. The Center for Parent and Teen Communication (CPTC) will produce strength-based, developmentally-oriented content and disseminate it through key opinion leaders (KOLs, e.g., journalists, authors, bloggers, social media influencers) and direct channels to parents. And, we will spark narrative change within KOL communications by supporting them to use optimal message framing. Deliverables include evidence-informed content for parents and KOLs addressing character development in teens, and a network of KOLs committed to changing the dialogue about parenting teens. This project will reach millions of parents and improve their ability to guide their teen’s development. It will also influence KOL partners’ thinking, prompting them to change the narrative about parenting teens.