Today wraps up the first week of school for many Triad kids. A week of new teachers, new classes and new friends. And many of you parents want to know how your kids are doing so far. You'll get the standard answer, "fine". To
To get your kids talking, change the type of question you ask them. A common mistake is to ask closed ended questions. This means you ask questions that only require a yes or no answer. So if you ask, "Did you have a good day?" And they say, "no" where do you go from there. Closed ended questions stop the conversation. Or, you ask a question about something negative then your kids might shut down because they don't want to talk about it.
Parents should ask open-ended questions, which means that your kid can say as much as they want. For example, "Tell me about your day." "What are liking best about your schedule?" or "How are you juggling your school work with sports?" Answers to these questions will give you a sense of what's going well and what isn't for your kids. Just be careful not to sound like an interrogator - asking question after question after question because open-ended or not, your kid will shut down.
Identify any areas that you think are problematic for them or could be problematic. Offer suggestions. For your middle schoolers and high schoolers, they might not want your advice so ask them first. Usually, when you ask, they'll say yes. And you could tell them a story of a similar situation that happened to you when you were their age. Many times kids think that you don't understand because they feel like you're so old and out of date because of technology. What kids don't realize is that it's the same game, only different players and a different time.
Share your thoughts on my Facebook page: Blanca Cobb-Body Language Expert. Write a message on my timeline and I'll be sure to get back to you.