The art of interviewing your teen

Mom: "Did you and your date have a nice time at the movies"
Teen: "Yes"
Mom: "Did you go out to dinner first"
Teen: "Mm-hmm"
Mom: "Was the food good?"
Teen: "Yeah"
Mom: "Did anything else happen?"
Teen: "Not really." Teen goes upstairs
Mom: "Sigh. I guess he is not ready to open up to me.  Must be the age."*

But wait, teens actually report wanting to talk to their parents more about their lives.  Why the crossed wires?  What to do?

TRY THIS:  Go for the open-ended questions, "Tell me about the movie?" "What parts of your date did you like?"  "How did you guys decide what movie to go to?"  These types of questions require more disclosure, more discussion, and ultimately result in more insight into your kid's brain. 

NOT THAT: One of the most common mistakes people make when interviewing a participant (or talking to a teenager) is asking  questions where a simple "yes" or "no" will suffice as an answer. Ask a yes or no question and you will receive a yes or no answer. 

* Excerpt borrowed and liberally edited from M.Q. Patton's book, "Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods