Trust is the bedrock of any relationship and is especially crucial in a parent-child relationship.
A child who trusts their parent feels safe and secure, knowing they have someone who will always be there for them.
To foster trust, be consistent in your actions and words. If you make a promise to your child, make sure you keep it. This teaches them that they can rely on you. Don’t make empty promises or threaten unrealistic punishments.
An important aspect of building trust is creating a safe and nurturing home environment. This means ensuring that your child feels loved, accepted, and secure at home.
Encourage positive behaviors, reinforce good habits, and provide a reliable routine.
Avoid harsh criticism or punishment, as these can damage your child's sense of security and trust.
Finally, respect your child's boundaries. Children have a right to their personal space and privacy like adults.
Respecting their boundaries shows them that you trust and respect them, which in turn, fosters their trust in you.
Respecting their boundaries does not mean never checking their social media content or inspecting what apps and information are being saved and tracked on their phones.
Everything shared online can become a trail that follows them for life. This includes the photos that may be stored on their phone or stored in the cloud, including the AI apps they upload pictures of their faces to create fun filters. Once sent out into the internet ethers you don’t get them back.
Encourage an open and honest dialogue with your tweens and teens about the content they see online, the content their friends may be sharing, and if they feel pressured or threatened.
If you are feeling the need to provide your child with a phone for communication
or safety, consider a flip phone. AKA - dumb phone. These phones do not provide the dopamine hits like a smartphone so it’ll be easier to teach your child how to stay present in the moment, ignore the peer pressure of social media, and avoid creating an addiction to their phone.
It’s up to you the parent to ensure your child is making smart choices and is safe!
If you the parent are struggling to break free from the dopamine rushes a smartphone provides which could be preventing you from being more present with your child, we have a resource for you. Cell Phone Addiction - Six Tips For Taking Back Control And Becoming More Present In Your Life (Phones are necessary but it’s up to us to be the ones in control of our phones versus them in control of us.)
Just like parents need to monitor how much time they allow their children to play video games, play on their tablets, watch TV, or screen time of any kind. We as parents have to create healthy boundaries for ourselves and our own well-being.
As we’ve said before, encourage open communication. Let your child know that they can talk to you about anything, without fear of judgment or punishment. This creates a safe space for them to express their thoughts and feelings, enhancing your connection.
If you missed our last article be sure to read Intentional Conscious Parenting: Inspiring and Nurturing Connection
Thank you for joining us in supporting the inner light of the children,
Carol Lawrence and Stacy Toten
Would you love to have more support? Sign up for Carol's Intuitive conscious parenting coaching.
More Online Resources:
Teaching kids about Internet safety
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetsafetyforkids/teaching-kids-about-internet-safety/1/
Online safety resources
https://www.schoolsafety.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/Online%20Safety%20Resources.pdf
Teaching Kids to Be Smart About Social Media
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/social-media-smarts.html
No comments:
Post a Comment