Welcome to part 1 of many as we continue working on Doctor Hammond’s soon to be titled book on raising emotionally healthy children. Today, we would like to talk about communication and how much of a key role it plays in raising our kids.
Whether we like to admit it or not, our kids will face subjects like sex, drugs, religion and more. When it comes to these types of subjects it’s important that we begin the conversation with them first for two reasons- First, it allows us to guide them in making the right choices about everything they may encounter. Second, it let’s us have an educational discussion with them surrounded by facts rather than rumors and conjectures heard around the school yard.
Unfortunately, some parents believe that if they simply don’t discuss a topic it will just go away. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s also a bad idea to wait until you think they are “old enough” to begin to discussing serious things. In today’s largely uncensored world, these kinds of topics come up as early as preschool. Yes, really! You have to ask yourself now, do you want their education to come from a friend or you? If you’re afraid to discuss certain things it’s understandable and completely normal. Arm yourself with knowledge as soon as possible. Get books and articles to help you start the conversations and before you know it you will be prepared to communicate about anything your kids could want to discuss.
It’s also important to remember that communication is a two way street. We need our kids to feel like it’s okay to talk to us about anything and everything. We’ll talk more about how to listen to our kids next week. Stay tuned here on our blog for updates on the book Doctor Hammond is working on as well as to enjoy sneak peaks like this one into the topics and ideas that will be covered.
Feel free to chime in with a comment each week as we post our updates and sneak peaks too! We’d love reader feedback as we continue working on this very important subject of the emotional health of our children.