Good Parenting

A major concern for many parents is when to talk to their children about certain things. Many may feel their children are either too young or they just wouldn’t understand. Parents would be surprised at what their children would understand, so they need to communicate them and don’t skirt around the truth. Communicating truthfully with them today will prevent ignorance tomorrow.

You’ve heard the saying, “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” That is not always a true statement. During a child’s lifetime, he or she will have many questions about many things ranging from sex to drugs. Parents are responsible for passing the correct information to their children. If parents neglect to answer these questions truthfully, in the end it may cause a lack of trust and jeopardize the relationship with their children.

One of the responsibilities as parents is being there for their children. With a full life ahead of them, they will experience many of the things that their parents experienced. Children will be curious about a lot of things but many may never ask. A lot of needed advice will not stem from a question, but from a situation, timing, or conversation started by their parents. It maybe embarrassing or somewhat difficult to have certain talks with your children, but as parents, it is your responsibility. You must offer and provide the best possible advice, and be supportive to help them grow. But that’s the easy part. What happens when you are put on the spot with a complicated question?

Parents will often be put on the spot with a complicated question, and depending on the age of the child, parents will give a response that doesn’t answer the question; they side track. Yes, it may appease the child for the moment, but for how long? Let’s say your nine year old daughter asks you about sex, what would be your response? Before responding, you have to ask yourself the 5 Ws: Who, What, Where, When, and Why? Something got her curious. When children have questions like this, what do they do? They go to their parents for guidance. Children look at parents as their lifeline; they expect them to know everything. So when parents give them an answer, they will take them at their word.

Most deep questions that are asked by children often come from something they may have seen on TV or while at school talking amongst one another. And if parents keep giving fictitious answers to appease their children, it will be a matter of time before these answers will be questioned by their children. When they start to question answers, they may acquire answers elsewhere.

Many parents are afraid or just aren’t ready to talk to their children regarding deep issues, but they should never be afraid to communicate with their children openly and honestly. When parents are not ready to have those talks with their children, they are making it about themselves and not their children. If they are old enough to ask, they are old enough to know the truth. If their parents don’t tell them, someone else will. Parents should rather their child hear the truth from them than a lie from someone else. What parents fail to tell their children today may have an everlasting effect on them tomorrow.