How to Talk about Difficult Topics with Your Kids
Hi All,
It’s been a heavy week for a lot of people. Wishing you comfort and love and peace during this time.
There are many articles going around about how to talk to your kids about what happened at the United States Capitol this week. Parenting and teaching advice can get overwhelming in times like this. It can be hard to sort through the noise and find what connects with you and your family.
I’ve been speaking about this with my trusted partnership parenting circles and want to share some of what came up. Most of the information was straightforward and came back to the same things: be authentic, consistently talk with your kids about what’s going on in the world, respect where they are at and how much they do or do not want to talk about it, make clear you are open to their questions by answering them honestly, and the more you do this the easier it gets.
Here is what has worked for us:
Share what you know and how you feel about it. Be your authentic self. Don’t try to mask worry, concern, or other feelings. Kids feel those regardless of us trying to hide them. Adjust your language and how much you share for the much younger kids, of course.
The more you have these conversations the easier it gets. Portland has been protesting for months, and that has been a regular topic of conversation in our household. While the Portland protests aren’t the same as what happened at the Capitol this week, some of the ideas and context are related and connected, which also came up in our conversations with Raiden this week. Raiden sometimes asks questions or notices what I am reading or watching and asks about it. We talk it through in the best way my husband and I know how. I am honest with him but try not to overwhelm him with too much information.
It can feel heavy to bring this up. It is heavy. Kids have a different context for that heaviness. And they may have a new lens or commentary that really surprises you. Sometimes kids can take something that feels so complex and boil it down to its essence. Don’t forget to ask them what they think about it too.
If they are done with the conversation, don’t try to push more of it on them. It will keep coming up in daily life and there is no need to overwhelm them or try to talk about something when it is not connecting with them.
If you aren’t sure, reach out to other trusted parents for support. Sometimes we just need support or a listening ear through the heaviness. I am always here to listen or chat if you want.
If any of you want to connect more about this, please do reach out.
Peace Everyone,
Bria