Parents are learning to maintain open communication with their kids amidst a divorce.
If you’ve gotten divorced from your spouse, it’s even more important that you know how to stay in good communication with your kids.
The divorce was probably stressful for you…
And it was stressful for your kids too.
But because kids are less likely to talk openly about their feelings and concerns, you need to know what to look for and how to help them open up to you.
Here’s what you can do…
Most of these ideas are common sense ideas that apply to parents and kids even outside of the divorce situation…
But after going through a divorce and dealing with all the stress and overwhelm that can come, you might need a little reminder:
- Get down on your kids’ level when talking with them about their feelings or upsets instead of towering over them.
- Take your child’s concerns seriously. Don’t make jokes about them or laugh at what they’re saying. To your kids, these issues are very real and painful.
One of the most important ones:
• Be an active listener. Don’t interrupt while your child is talking. Listen carefully and then paraphrase back what you heard them say. Ask if you’re right in your interpretation. They’ll tell you. This give and take will help you be more precisely understood about what is really at issue.
Most of the time your kids really just want to be heard. They want to know that someone (you!) cares about what’s going on for them and will listen to their concerns and thoughts.
Click through to the full article for more great tips about keeping communication open between you and your kids after a divorce.
How To Boost Parent Child Communication After Your Divorce [Child Centered Divorce]
