Ep. 123: Connection Comes First

<p><a href= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/?p=6936&preview=true" target= "_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Show notes & links available here.</a></p> <p>In this episode, I'm talking about my theme for this month: <strong>Connection</strong>!</p> <p>All month long, my posts and podcast episodes are centered around this topic, and it's one that I feel is critically important to raising thriving kids. In fact, the first chapter of my book <a href="https://sunshine-parenting.com/happy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Happy Campers</a> (Secret #1) is <strong><em>Connection comes first.</em></strong><img class= "aligncenter wp-image-6944 size-full" src= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Secret-1.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1080" /></p> <h2>6 Tips for Creating Connection</h2> <h3>#1 Ask good questions.</h3> <p>As Chris Thurber shared in last week's episode (<a href= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/ep-122-how-to-connect-with-your-teen-with-chris-thurber/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ep. 122: How to Connect with Your Teen with Chris Thurber)</a>, Parents often ask kids questions about school and sports - questions that focus on their achievements - instead of questions that are more about them as a person.</p> <p>Use my <a href= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/connection-through-questions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Questions for Connection</a> download (below) for 50 questions that can help spur deeper conversations with your kids. These kinds of questions show your child that you care about them, and you're interested in their thoughts and feelings.</p> <p>Don't forget to ask follow up questions. If they share about a topic, circling back to that, even a day or a week later shows that you were really listening and cared about what they shared.</p> <h3>#2 <a href= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/giving-kids-full-attention/">Give kids your full attention</a>.</h3> <p>As little as <a href= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/how-to-get-closer-to-your-kid-