How To Have Important Convos With Your Kiddos

As parents, we sometimes shy away from having hard conversations with our kiddos for various reasons, but in talking to numerous parents, one of the main reasons we shy away is because we don’t feel equipped to have these conversations with our kiddos.

Well good news! You no longer have to feel ill-equipped to talk about heavy topics with your kiddos because I am here to help! In the video below, I share 9 helpful tips to equip you with the tools you need to get the conversation going. I have also included an outline with a few notes related to each tip as an added resource.

When you’re done viewing the video, I’d love it if you could leave a comment and let me know which tip was the most helpful to you. Thank you!

Outline of Tips

1. Preview the Topic At Hand
   1. It helps you to know what your child will be viewing/reading
   2. Helps you to anticipate any questions that might come up
2. Find Resources on the Topic
   1. Google and Amazon are great places to look
   2. Ask a friend for recommendations
3. Pick an Appropriate Time of Day to Talk
   1. Right when your child wakes up or right before they go to bed are not recommended times to have important conversations
   2. Give them enough time to process the information
4. Remember Your “Why”
   1. You want to establish yourself as a trusted authority/resource
   2. You want to be able to lay the foundation for your children; not their friends, or even their teachers
5. Pay Attention to Your Tone, Body Language, Facial Expressions
   1. Your kiddos are not just getting information from what you are verbally saying, but they are also learning how to *feel* about this topic from the way your non-verbal cues are being displayed
6. Find a Healthy Balance Between You Talking and Your Child Talking
   1. Leave room for exploratory questions
   2. Break the information down in to chunks
   3. Listen for the invitation
7. Let Them Know That This Is An On-Going Conversation
   1. This isn’t a one and done type situation
   2. You will always be here to answer any questions they have or talk through any ideas they are processing
8. If It’s Appropriate, Give Them Personal Examples
   1. It allows them to make a personal connection between the information being shared and the topic
   2. Research shows that when we are able to make a personal connection with information, it has a more lasting effect
9. Never Lie to Your Child About A Topic
   1. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know,” when asked a question you truly don’t know the answer to.
   2. They will eventually find out the truth about the topic, figure out you were lying to them, and then start to question what else you’ve lied to them about
   3. Trust is broken, which negates tip #4

For more helpful Mammahood tips, follow me on Instagram @mamma_arianna