Building a strong relationship with your child helps you, as a parent, have the strongest impact on influencing your child to make healthy choices, such as not smoking. How do you build a meaningful relationship with your child? Below are 5 simple ways to strengthen your relationship and open up the lines of communication.
1. Have fun!
Between work, school, practice, and everything else you and your family are involved in, it can be easy to forget to have fun. Having fun is one of the easiest ways to build your relationship. Participate in activities in which both of you are interested, and use the time just for fun, not confrontation. Do this at least ten minutes a day and you may be amazed at the change.
2. Practice mutual respect.
Children today are very perceptive when it comes to feeling disrespected. To get respect, you must show respect - this means not yelling, cursing, name calling or otherwise speaking to your child in ways you would not want her to speak to you. Practicing mutual respect will not only help your relationship with your child, but will teach them that treating others with respect is the only way to gain respect.
3. Be encouraging.
No matter how awesome you think your child is, there are times when he does not feel the same way about himself. Remember to tell him when he is doing a good job, shows effort, helps out, or when you are proud of him. By encouraging him to do well and be himself, you are building your relationship and his self-esteem. These are both critical ingredients in making healthy choices.
4. Be honest.
When your child asks you a question, tell the truth - but maybe not the whole truth. Using stories and anecdotes from your own life will make your lessons more relatable and effective for your child. If your child asks if you if you ever smoked, you can answer by saying, "When I was a teenager, I did some dumb things that put my health at risk. I am very lucky that I didn't wind up with serious health issues. I would hate to see you make the same mistakes I made; I care about you too much."
5. Actively listen
When your child talks to you, it is important to actually listen. It can be easy to tune out a chatty 6 year old, but often what they are saying is code for something much more important. "How many people in America smoke cigarettes?" may seem like simple curiosity, but do not miss the golden opportunity to talk about why she shouldn't be one of the many Americans that smoke.
These five suggestions are not meant to be one-time events. Make them a part of your ongoing parenting and you will find your relationship growing in steady fashion. They may take some extra effort at first, but make a point to keep practicing and you will find yourself doing them more and more easily as they pay off with positive results.
