Learning to communicate well with your child has many benefits. It can help your child:
Here are some ideas for how to communicate with your child:
Accepting your child's feelings does not mean accepting all behaviors. Help your child understand that feelings are not bad but that some behaviors are not OK. For example, tell your child that it is OK to feel angry at a brother or sister but not OK to hurt him or her.
When you listen and respond to your child's thoughts and feelings, it builds your child’s self-esteem. It also sets the stage for good communication between you and your teen later on.