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Communicating Well with your Children and Teens

Enhance parent-child communication.
Create a Family Gratitude Journal
Wring in a gratitude journal together is a great way to stay connected with your kids and help them to see all the positive that exists in your home. Learn how create your own family gratitude journal and make adding to it together a regular part of your routine.
Divorce Children - Book on Divorce for Children by Adolph Moser
This book on divorce for children, written by Adolph Moser, emphasizes the development of coping skills to help children handle their parents' divorce. Includes practical tips, written just for kids, in a down-to-earth, easy to read fashion.
Bond With Your Kids - How to Bond With Your Kids
You bond with your kids initially when they are infants, but you continue to maintain that bond throughout their childhoods and beyond. Take a moment to share the activities you engage in with your kids to strengthen your parent-child bond.
Review of [i]My Family's Changing[/i] by Pat Thomas
Children of divorce need to receive comfort from both parents surrounding the many changes divorce brings. The children's picture book [i]My Family's Changing[/i] is an excellent tool for parents to use in stimulating discussion of family change before, during, and after the divorce process.
Connect With Your Kids in 15 Minutes a Day
Unfortunately, between working and all the other responsibilities that fill you days and nights, you may feel like you're not really connecting with your kids. Here are some tips to help parents connect with kids of all ages in just 15 minutes per day:
Involved Non-custodial Parents
As a non-custodial parent, you will be as important to your children as you choose to be. It's up to you to make the decision to be an involved non-custodial parent. Remind yourself daily that your ongoing effort to communicate with your children, through a variety of means, continually reassures your them of your unconditional and absolute love for them. Here are some tips for incorpora…
Ways to Gain Your Kids' Respect
All parents deserve their kids respect. But sometimes we do things to undermine that respect without even realizing it. Learn what pitfalls to avoid and how to increase the mutual respect in your home.
How to Communicate Clear Directions to Your Child
Do you ever wonder if your kids are really listening to you? Learn how to communicate clear directions in a way that your young child understands. Once you apply these easy strategies, you'll be amazed and encouraged by the positive changes you'll see in your kids' responses.
Children's Books on the Subject of Divorce
Reading books together is a great way to open up communication about changes at home. Here is an annotated list of fiction books written on the topic of divorce. Sharing these books and talking about your experiences will help your children cope effectively with your own situation.
Door Openers Verses Door Slammers
Communicating with your teenager can be difficult. Denise Witmer, About.com's Guide to Parenting Adolescents, offers great advice about enhancing communication. This article includes helpful examples of "Door Openers," as well as the "Door Slammers" that can hinder communication.
Top Ten Tips on Talking to Your Kids about Sexuality
Ideas on how to talk to your kids about sex. Suggestions for research to do before you talk with your children about sexuality, how to deal with unexpected questions, and making sex conversations more comfortable for you and useful for your children.
Talking with Your Teenage Children about Sex
Ideas on how to talk to your teenage children about sex. Suggestions for dealing with your own discomfort, how to listen for sex questions beneath the surface, alternative ways to offer sexual health information, and going beyond sexual fear.
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