ICommunicate Radio Show #140: How Are You Doing?

What kind of answers do you get when you ask your child how their day was at school? Does good sound familiar? How about what they did at school today? Does nothing much sound familiar? In this episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses how to approach questions differently, set realistic expectations, and create psychological safety for children and adults to share their truths and create open lines of dialogue. Segment 1: As parents, prying information from our children as to how their day went often feels like pulling teeth. How can we reframe our approach to talking with our kids about their day so that they are more engaged in the conversation? How should we react to our children when they tell us about any conflict that they were in with a teacher or student? Segment 2: What we often fail to realize as parents when speaking to our kids is that we have quite a bit in common. What kind of experiences should we be sharing with our kids that encourage them to speak up about their day? How can we create expectations with our children to guide the flow of conversation? Segment 3: When trying to gauge how our child is performing in school, we’re often treated to generic answers that prevent further dialogue. What questions should we be asking that make our kids feel comfortable enough to open up about their performance in school? Segment 4: One of the hardest things to do as a child is to engage their parents with things that they’re interested in. What topics should we be discussing with our kids? How can we make conversations enjoyable for both parties without our involvement feeling forced?