Monday, January 08, 2018

Having awkward talks could prevent trouble down the road

From Saturday's Briefing:

A parent's résumé is ever evolving, and there's absolutely no way to contain it to a single page.

Basic duties include and are certainly not limited to: carrying, shepherding, cooking, cleaning, driving, purchasing, managing, demanding, negotiating, delivering, teaching, guiding, reading, corralling, worrying, rejoicing, clarifying, listening, speaking, convincing, cajoling and deciding.
Speaking subtopics are added as time continues and circumstances change:
  • Modeling basic language skills.
  • Repeating "I love you" multiple times daily.
  • Saying "no" with varying degrees of intensity.
  • Establishing critical rules about safety.
  • Offering advice for social scenarios.
  • Repeating cautionary tales.
  • Explaining current events.
  • Discussing uncomfortable yet crucial topics.

I'm thankful for the natural progression of humans from infant to teen, which allows us parents time to practice before we get to the really tough conversations. We get to smooth out our technique with discussions about taking turns and sharing, giving us confidence and courage to tackle the heavy stuff.
All that practice — more than 16 years of parenting so far — convinces me that difficult conversations become less difficult the more often you have them.
So this week, when I stumbled on a study out of Northwestern University about girls being overwhelmed by sexting requests, I had no qualms about broaching the subject with my two children.
They've heard it all before.
Don't ask anyone, ever, to send you a nude photo via smartphone.
If anyone asks you to send a photo, report it to a trusted adult immediately.
If anyone sends you an unsolicited nude photo, report it to a trusted adult immediately.
If one of your friends confides in you that they have sent a nude photo, do not gossip about it. Find a way to help your friend talk to an adult.
If you make a mistake when navigating all of this, please let me know so we can work through it together.

No comments: