4 Tips For Talking With Your Kids

Whether you’re on a mission trip, between events or at the dinner table, employing good habits when interacting with your kids is important. The following are a few considerations we give parents before their YouthWorks Family Mission.

“But we already know how to talk!”

We believe you. And we’ve also learned that sometimes families need to learn new ways of talking to one another. This is true as our kids grow, and also as our relationships with them grow over time. We want to help you learn new skills for talking with one another about daily life in light of faith, and begin to apply those skills toward processing a shared mission experience. Here are a few surprising insights from our research:

1. MOST PARENTS DON’T TALK ABOUT FAITH WITH THEIR KIDS.

While most of us would name faith as central to our lives, too often this fails to translate into daily family conversation. Family life tends to focus around the logistics of day-to-day needs (homework, carpool, sports, and activities) to the exclusion of deeper conversations. The good news is that you’ve signed up for a shared experience that can spark all kinds of conversations about faith! In the meantime, look for ways faith can be part of more of your regular dialogue. A great way to do this is simply to share highs and lows around the table at the end of each day. As you do, you might also add questions like “Where did you notice God today?”

2. AVOID INTERROGATION.


One common mistake we make as parents is asking our kids all
the questions without sharing ourselves. We learned in our Sticky Faith research that teenagers’ faith grows not only when parents talk with them about the kids’ faith, but also about their own faith. Consider starting some of your conversations about faith by sharing some of your own journey with God. That might mean a story from your past or a prayer you’ve been praying this week.

3. NEVER EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO YOUR KID IF YOU CAN ASK A QUESTION INSTEAD.

Sometimes we encounter topics, situations, or questions from our kids that are best explored with a question in return. It’s often the best way to get a good conversation rolling, and you may discover that there’s a deeper question or concern below the surface.

4. LOOK FOR OPEN DOORS.

As we’ve asked parents when they tend to have the best conversations about faith with their kids, they often tell us that these conversations happen in the midst of life. One parent shared, “We carefully listen and look for doors that might be open. We push very gently and if they open, we walk in.” For each child and teenager in your family, the doors and the times to knock might look different.

This content is from the YouthWorks Family Trip Parent Guide Book, a resource YouthWorks creates in partnership with Sticky Faith. To learn more about Family Mission Trips, click here.