Lately, my teenage daughter has been so busy with school, band, and work that I hardly ever spend quality time with her.

Up until June, I drove her everywhere! From her first day of school in kindergarten up until her last day of sophomore year, we were together all the time. I loved that time together driving her and her friends around town.

That was our time to talk, and laugh, and connect, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Of course, it's bittersweet because I have a lot more time now to devote to my blog and my businesses but I truly miss that time we spent together. I often wonder if she misses it too.

I'm grateful I can work from home because it lets me be more available. When she comes home from school, I make her something to eat or at least chat with her about her day.

I know how important quality time is, now more than ever, and even if she doesn't want to talk, I try to be "around" just in case she needs me.

We went through a rough patch during middle school and freshman year. She was struggling with "coming out" and also her father's new life so she had therapy and had to eventually get on medication. Things are much better now but I could have used the help of this book back then so I wanted to share it with other parents who may be struggling.

Claire is a homebody and usually doesn't want to leave the house, especially on Sunday morning but after a late night at a band competition, she said "I have a taste for McDonald's". So we hopped in the car and spent some quality time talking about her passion (marching band) and life. I was so happy to get that time with her.

Do you plan time with your teen? What activities do you do together?

The author Gary Chapman offers some ways to spend quality time with your teenager. Here are a few:

• Plan time together with your teenager and don't let anything else take priority
• If you have more than one child, arrange for care of the others and take your teenager out for a quick breakfast before school, or a smoothie after school.
• Don't give up on "tucking in" your teenager at night. You may no longer read bedtime stories, but you can still talk about the day.

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