Mike DomitrzPresident, Author, and Speaker on Respect, The Center for Respect, Inc. · Author & Speaker on Respect for Schools, Corporations, & the Military since 1990 (has reached

Relate to your kids instead of distancing your experiences!

15 Dec 2023 · 1 min

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In this short segment, the speaker argues that parents should avoid telling children that adults cannot understand their world, as such statements alienate kids and shut down communication. Instead, parents should emphasize the continuity of feelings across generations—like the nervousness surrounding dating—to create empathy and connection. By sharing relatable personal anecdotes that mirror the child's current pressures, parents can foster listening and trust rather than resistance.

Chapters

Now, if you sit down and say to your child, hey, you know what, the world is so different, I can't imagine what you're going through today. By the way, could that be a sincere comment by a parent? Yes or no? Yeah. Yeah. And if we say that, we just made sure they never listen to us again. Because what did they just hear? You have no clue what you're talking about. Because you just admitted your world's so different than mine, why am I here to listen to you? Right? So what I want to do is the opposite in that moment. I want to be able to say to them, wow, you know what, there's so many things that are the same nowadays. And they're gonna be like, excuse me? You didn't have social media? You didn't have cell phones? Yeah, but I remember my friends being super nervous on dates whether they were supposed to do something or not do something with that person who took them out. I remember that. And that's exactly what they're dealing with. The pressure to or not to do something has not changed one ounce as far as the feeling of pressure. Do I do something, not do something? That allows us to connect.