When they’re young, it’s not really an issue to connect with your kids. In fact, it’s usually an issue of disconnecting from them so you can have a few minutes to yourself. This changes as they get older, though. That’s when we really need to focus on keeping that connection strong.

As they enter their teen years, it’s developmentally normal for kids to push away from their parents and connect more with their friends. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to connect with your kids anymore.

In fact, it’s the opposite. This is when you should be focusing more on creating intentional time to be together as a family. Yes, they should be working on finding their own way in life, but they still need help and guidance from you.

Hopefully, you’ve been having family meetings to help with this connection. If not, it’s not too late to start.

Family meetings are a great way to keep the whole family on the same page with important matters and schedules. It can be a great time to check in with everyone and see how things are going at school or work.

The family meeting would also be a great place to implement our simple way to connect with your kids. (You can still connect with your kids using our one simple way even if you don’t have family meetings. The family meeting would just make it easy to introduce the idea.)

So how do you connect with your kids easily? It’s very simple—have them teach you something. They don’t have to teach you anything complicated. And this can be done with young children as well. Toddlers, especially, love to show their parents how to do things. We’re constantly showing our kids how things are done, so they’ll get a kick out of reversing the rolls.

Not sure what to have them teach you? What does your child enjoy? Are they up on the new dance craze? Have them show you how it’s done.

Do they have a phone? Have them show you how to use filters or reels on a social media platform. Even if you’re a savvy user, I can almost guarantee your child knows how to do something you don’t (my child doesn’t even have her own social media accounts yet, and she’s shown me how to do things).

If they aren’t on social media yet, do they enjoy playing games? Have them show you how to play one of their favorites and teach you a few tricks.

Does your child enjoy making things, like paper airplanes? Have them walk you through the steps to make your own, and then see whose flies the farthest. If yours wins, tell them what a great teacher they are.

The limits are endless for what they can teach you. Still having trouble coming up with something? Think about the activities your child takes part in, anything to do with technology, the classes they’re taking in school, or a chore they do at home.

Even if it’s something you already know how to do, have them teach you anyway. They may do things differently, and you just might learn a faster or better way to do something. If you think for a bit or ask your child, I’m sure you’ll come up with something.

By having your child teach you something, you’ll be connecting, building their confidence, learning something new, and spending some quality time together. So get learning!