Take a Personal Interest

Understanding your parents might feel very insecure about their ability to rear you properly. Or, feeling overwhelmed by all the moral dangers and temptations you face, they may tend to overreact to things at times. They also may be contending with physical, financial, or emotional hardships. A father, for instance, may hate his job but may never complain. So when his child says "I can't stand school." its no wonder that rather than respond sympathetically, he retorts, "What's the matter with you? You kids have it easy!"
How, then, can you find out how your parents feel? By keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of others. Try asking your mother what she was like as a teenager. What were her feelings, her goals? Chances are that if she feels that you're interested in and aware of the reasons for some of her feelings, she'll try to be more aware of yours. The same would no doubt be true of your father.
If a conflict arises, do not be quick to accuse your folks of being insensitive. Ask yourself: Was my parent or feeling well, or worried about something? Was he or she perhaps hurt over some thoughtless deed or word on my part? Do they simply misunderstand what I mean? Showing such empathy is a good start at closing that generation gap. Now you can work on getting your parents to understand you! Many youths, though, make that extremely difficult. How?