Children spend most of their time studying, so parents wonder how their day has been, says Martha Deiros Collado, a child psychologist and author of How to Be The Grown-Up: Why Good Parenting Starts with You. Parents forgot that when they were asked the same thing as children, they simply answered “okay” or rolled their eyes. In the future, such questions may become a habit and not bring any information or connection with the child.
Try naming the emotions: “You look so happy! Something funny must have happened today? See if this helps your child open up. When you talk about emotions, the person's body begins to calm down. “Only when children are calm and their basic needs are met can they have meaningful conversations,” Collado says.
Collado advises starting a conversation with the “What” question as follows:
What made you laugh today?
What did you like about today?
What was your favorite part of the game or lunch today?
What did the teacher/friend say today?
It is also important to talk about your child's emotions to find out how he felt that day. For example, you might ask the following:
Were you sad today? What did you do with it?
What difficulties did you face today?
Did you feel lonely today? How did you deal with this?
Be prepared that children in early adolescence share their experiences more with peers than with parents, Papadopoulos says. "It doesn't mean you don't have a place in their life, it just means you need to find a way to talk to them."
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