When it comes to our children we need to prioritize their health, happiness, and so many different things. And this can mean that occasionally, we end up shielding our children from things. When there are problems in life that we have to discuss with our children this can be overwhelming. Regardless of the issue what can we do to make sure that we discuss these problems sensitively with our children without shielding them completely?
Being Age-Appropriate
It all depends on the child. We know our child better than anybody and when it comes to situations that are incredibly complex this can prove to be a difficult thing to get around. When it comes to something like death, especially if it’s a really murky issue like a wrongful death in hospital, these things can prove to be difficult to explain. And we have to remember that in these situations that it is incredibly tough for us to explain to them, we’ve got to make sure that we are not overwhelming our child with information. It all depends on how old they are. When it comes to a teenager they are emotionally mature but they could struggle with the news.
Being Truthful
Sugarcoating is one of the things that we feel that we have to do as parents, but when we start to do this we are shielding them from the truth. It’s important to be truthful but also make sure that we explain it in such a manner that they can comprehend. But if they have other questions we can answer them as openly and honestly as possible. Sometimes we’ll try to discuss something with our children, especially when it comes to death and say that they have “gone to heaven.” But this may work for a child that is a toddler but when it’s someone older this may not work so much. It’s important to be truthful but not to be so visceral with it.
An Open And Honest Forum
We’ve got to be there for our children. It will have plenty of questions, and no doubt they will have many questions, we have got to make sure that we answer them as openly and honestly as possible. And we have to remember that if it’s something that has affected us, we have got to discuss this with our children as openly and honestly as possible but also realize that we could feel upset. Sometimes our children will feel confused but also, they want to help us. And if you are both going through something incredibly difficult it’s crucial for you to go through it together. There will be times when you feel like you need to be on your own or you’re going through grief but your children also need to have an opportunity to open themselves up.
It’s an incredibly difficult time, especially with what’s going on right now, and when we have to discuss these complex situations to our children it can prove stressful. But when it comes to discussing sensitive issues with our children it’s crucial that we don’t sugarcoat the issue. Our children deserve to be told the truth and it will help them to process information far better than us trying to disguise matters.