Children Today: Do You Talk To Your Kids?

Difficult subjects arise in our kids' lives and sometimes as a parent we face challenges in initiating those conversations.

With television, technology and just the mere decisions they have growing up, it's our responsibility to help them process what they experience.

For example, death was one thing my husband and I had to learn to cope with when bringing it up with our kids. Losing a family member or friend can be a hard topic to talk about, but nonetheless we decided it was the right thing to do.

We wanted to make sure we were not hiding anything from them and that emotions surrounding death are OK.

On one hand we believe that there should be discretion when talking about sensitive topics such as death, but on the other hand, it needs to be discussed in a way that acknowledges what happened and allow them to talk about how they feel. If they had questions we answered them and if they cried, we let them. 

More controversial subects such as race or drugs can easily be shrugged off because of unfamiliarity, your own discomfort or lack of knowledge of the subject. But sometimes embracing questions your kids may have might spark interest in providing you as a parent, more information you didn't already know.

We have a blended family and while being all so different makes for great conversations and laughs, we certainly have had our share of "oohs" and "ummms..." complete with question marks floating above our heads on how to begin. (Usually with a tailspin of ramblings that lead up to the real response, something I think that bites us in the rear when it comes up again in the future.)

Either way you look at how to talk to your kids, I am a firm believer of getting it out there and talking straight. The worst that could happen is you are boggled and don't know the answer. Then, you can then use that as an opportunity to research together. Children Now has a helpful section for parents in learning how to cope with your kids and subjects that you may come across: http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/talking_with_kids/ I like the "10 Helpful Tips" which can be used to remind me on how to keep conversations consistent with my kids.

How do you talk to your kids? Do you have a house policy or rule set you abide by? What subjects do you stay from or are fearful of that may have come up before? Thank you for your input and discussion as always.