My oldest child recently turned 13, and I am gobbling up all the advice I can on parenting teenagers well. I was grateful, then, for William Smith’s article “6 Ways to Bring Light to Heated Talks with Teenagers.” His good advice and reminders helped me to find my bearings again in the way I relate to my boy. I want to be someone who “speaks to [my] child in ways that reflect how [my] heavenly Father speaks to [me].”

Even better, I can use much of Smith’s advice in my interactions with my husband or my sister or my friends. Every close relationship has tension, and these guidelines are a clear and practical way to love well even when disagreement threatens to make one (or both) of you angry and irrational. No matter the age of the person you love (or should love) who can make you crazy, give this a read. It’ll help.