Every time your child chooses to share something with you, the way you respond to it either strengthens or weakens that trust.

Every time your child chooses to share something with you, the way you respond to it either strengthens or weakens that trust.

It’s completely normal for kids to try out different parts of their personality, especially in middle school. They might change their style, hobbies, or friends as they figure out who they are. This exploration is a healthy part of self-discovery, and it’s important for parents to stay connected during this time. While they experiment, we can be a safe space for them to return to.

Whether you're a working parent or not, the amount of energy and thought we now pour into raising our kids is unlike anything previous generations experienced. We are hyper-aware of our influence on our kids. It’s not like when our parents were raising us—there wasn’t this massive wave of self-reflection and child psychology resources. Like the saying goes, "ignorance is bliss."

In my quest to perfect this connection, I created a blind spot. My need to always be there—ready to help my daughter with whatever issue she’s facing and to support her through her emotions (and she has a lot of them!)—has made her dependent on me, and now the mental health counselor, to cope.

Kids will make mistakes and behave differently from what we expect, inevitably. The way we choose to approach these situations can determine and model how they will respond to criticism, how they will see themselves, and ultimately how safe they will feel in your relationship and potentially all of their other relationships.

What's a good balance when trying to raise independent kids without pushing them too far away?

One significant issue is childhood loneliness. You know that feeling when you're in a room full of people, but you still feel all alone? It's a deep sense of disconnection, like no one really gets you. The reality is that we can feel lonely even when we are not alone. What matters is the internal experience.

Asking our kids about their experiences can be frustrating. Some kids are talkers, who will tell their parents everything even when they don’t ask. But many kids just reply with vague answers. How to get our kids to share more details about their day and life? How to get them to open up to us?

Before learning communication styles, techniques, and canned scripts, we need to learn to connect with our kids. In other words, in order to get through to them, we need to move beyond surface-level conversations and explore the realm of understanding and empathy.

The teenage years can be really tough, we all know that. So we brought you some food for thought on why building a strong emotional connection with kids, specifically between ages 6 and 12, should be your top priority before arriving in the teenage years.

Quality time is the time that you’re fully present doing things they like to do. No phones, no thinking about work. It’s you and your kid, jumping into your parallel universe together. You are there with an open heart, mind and ears, ready to experience their world and listen to what they have to say.

In the middle of a storm of emotions, it's so important to stay connected. This post is about an example of parenting through anger with one mother's candid account. Learn how she embraced her daughter's rage, fostered self-soothing techniques, and nurtured open communication.

When a parent is not listening and paying attention to how their children are experiencing life, they miss a great opportunity to connect on a deeper level.

Core memories are pivotal moments from childhood that carry emotional importance and influence a child's understanding of happiness.

Sharing experiences together is one of the best ways to connect with our kids.

This little word is big for us. So big, that we created a whole company around it. Why? Because it’s crucial and we are not focusing on it enough.

Connection is a process