Conversations With Kids and Teens

Hello, my name is Amanda Dounis. I'm would like to discuss the importance of having conversations with our children. Children of all ages some questions are difficult to answer. Some questions may take us by surprise and some questions can haunt us. And then some questions make us laugh.

The power of voice

Questions that challenge our values. In the end, we create pictures of who we are. Children must be allowed to use their voice. Sometimes we need to speak about emotions. Sometimes we need to speak about relationships even their identity their values beliefs.

It's two way

It's okay to ask questions and it's okay to hear their answers. After all, kids have their model of the world and this needs to be respected. Your job as an adult is to be a really good listener. Your job is also to ask the question. Invite children to feel okay about being able to speak about themselves and be honest.

Patience

And if they have a difficult time expressing themselves. Be patient. This comes with practice. We all had to learn how to listen and speak and to prove this amongst ourselves in time some of the questions that we can ask our children for example just open up conversation can be as simple as what's the best or worst or funniest movie that you've ever seen.

Just ask

Or what do you do to relax? What helps you we may ask questions about their relationships at school. We may ask what would your friends say were your strengths. We can ask them questions about their values. We can ask for example, How do you feel about someone who harms themselves.

Encourage

We don't need to be afraid to ask these kinds of questions. We can even ask questions to encourage them to search within their own emotions. We can ask something like Have you ever felt that things were out of control for yourself. We can turn towards beliefs.

Be flexible

We can even ask how do you think the world came to be you'll be surprised at how many things you don't know about your child and their view or what they experience. Have the conversation with your children or child I hope I've permitted you to feel that you can speak to your children about anything other than just homework or house chores or tied in their bedroom.

Get started

Open up your view open up your flexibility. Show them that they can speak and that you respect that they have their view. Good luck and I hope that this was useful. I'm Amanda Dounis from the Positive Thinking Clinic. Thank you.

Amanda Dounis | Psychotherapist