You want to raise children who will come to you and talk to you when they need your help, or when they get into trouble later in life.
You want to raise kids who you have a good relationship with, especially as your children get older and life gets more and more challenging to navigate for the child.
You want your children to be able to trust you and come to you in difficult times, so that you can help and consult and be there for your child.
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ค๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ.
Parents understand that there are risks out there and would rather their children consult them as opposed to a misinformed or immature friend… or what they might see online.
If a child gets into real trouble, things could be made much worse for the child if he/she hides it or trusts the advice of a peer.
Every parent wants this. But many don’t know how to ensure this kind of relationship into the future.
Children change, they grow, the become independent, they can grow out of our control and and sphere of influence.
So what must you do now? What must you do so that your children continue to communicate with you, trust you, and come to you even when things are hard and they have made a mistake.
What must you NOT do?
We shape our future relationship with our children through the way we interact with them now.
And the way to interact with children now so that they trust you later is to listen to the little things now. Build trust now. Don’t diminish their feelings or their perspective. Be curious about their lives. Thank them for sharing even small things with you. Thank them for trusting you. Share with them things about your life. Open up be honest, create a culture of vulnerability
Grown kids will share with you the big things going on in their lives if you have listened to the little things when they were littler.