Earning Your Children’s Trust
March 30, 2017|Posted in: Happy, Healthy, Smart Kids!
Everyone wants their children to trust them and to believe the things they say. Some parents just take it for granted that their children have faith and confidence in them. Others wonder why their kids sometimes express doubt and fear about whether or not they can count on their parents in a given situation. This is certainly a topic of importance that warrents some careful consideration from parents. Parents who want to earn their children’s trust will follow these .
- Meet Their Needs
Trust begins when an infant is just minutes old. When they are cleaned up, wrapped up in a blanket and placed in their mother’s arms they begin to learn that their needs will be met. When a baby cries and it’s mother responds, it begins to understand trust. Infants who don’t have their needs (physical and emotional) met will develop reactive attachment disorder. Which put simply, means they don’t learn to trust their parents or caregivers and therefore have difficulty forming attachments.
Meeting our kid’s needs goes way beyond infancy though. While they’re little, we need to make sure they’re warm and clothed and fed and that they have things to play and learn and be entertained with. As they get older we help them figure out school, friends and life. They always need our hugs, our love, and our encouragement! Honestly it never ends, it’s just something we do for people we love. While our children do grow and learn to meet most of their own needs, even as adults they’ll need us from time to time.
- Tell the Truth
I’m not talking about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny (that’s a whole post for another time). I don’t mean you shouldn’t pretend to do magic or to be a fairy princess or a grumpy old grizzly bear (which obviously you’re not!). But tell your kids the truth. Don’t say you’ll give them a reward for doing something if you really don’t intend to follow through. We shouldn’t ever tell our kids we’re going to give them a reward if we don’t intend to follow through, nor should we promise consequences for doing something they shouldn’t, unless we really mean what we say.
A pet peeve of mine – when leaving kids with a babysitter, parents shouldn’t sneak out while they’re not looking. Likewise, we should always explain to our kids that we’re taking them to the doctor and that something might hurt for a minute but it will make them feel better in the long run. In short, parents should always be honest and truthful in order to earn their child’s trust.
- Keep Your Promises
This goes right along with “Tell the Truth” and is almost the same thing. However, it is more than just following through with positive or negative reinforcement. It’s very important for parents to give careful consideration to any promises they make. Before we promise we always need to stop and think if we’re promising something that is reasonable. Is it something we can realistically deliver?
Parents should always make sure their kids know when they’re talking about possibilities, or things that might happen someday, that you aren’t making promises.
Inevitably, parents won’t be able to have a perfect record when it comes to keeping promises. If we promised a trip to the park tomorrow and then wake up with the flu, we’ll probably have to break that promise. But in order to earn our children’s trust, we should never cancel because we’re tired or just don’t feel like it. Kids are smart and they’ll understand the difference between a promise that had to be broken and one that was made or broken carelessly or inconsiderately.
- Care About Their Feelings
Caring about our kids feelings goes right along with meeting their needs. It’s obvious that parents need to meet the physical needs of their kids, but some parents don’t realize that meeting their emotional needs is equally important. Nothing infuriates me more than to see parents disrespect their kids. There’s apparently a first birthday tradition of pushing baby’s face into their cake. I’ve seen parents play too rough, tease their kids to an extreme or laugh at them when they’re in a predicament and need help. A little good natured teasing can be ok, but our kids need to know that we’re on their side. They should feel like their parents are always going to help, protect, support and encourage them.
Those are the four most important things we can do to earn our children’s trust. Learning to trust in their parents sets a strong foundation for kids to grow into happy, well adjusted adults. It’s also a vital first step in raising children to be trustworthy themselves.
Watch for “Teaching Your Children to be Trustworthy,” coming soon on Love My Big Happy Family.
You might also enjoy reading Never Sneak Out While Baby is Distracted.
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Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust
12 Comments
- How to Teach Kids to be Trustworthy - Building Character - […] A very important first step is to be a good example yourself. Your kids must be able to count…
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candy
April 1, 2017
Having the trust of a child is always important. Wonderful advice. Thanks for linking up with #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
April 1, 2017
Lori, I so agree. Important advice for parents and all caregivers. The world is getting faster and more chaotic all the time, so these things are more important than ever.
Grammy Dee
April 1, 2017
All good tips and looks like good choices for books too. Thank you Lori for sharing this post and co-hosting at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I shared it on social media.
Clearissa
April 2, 2017
I have always tried to treat the children in my life the way I expect or desire to be treated. I am really disappointed if someone breaks a promise so I try not to break any. My daughter and the grands will tell you, if MiMi says okay or maybe, it’s not for sure but if MiMi says, I promise, you can bet on it. I also see no reason to lie to children or anyone else. It is so much easier to tell the truth. I enjoyed your post. Thank you for sharing at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty. I have shared on social media.
Grammy Dee
April 6, 2017
Thanks from Grammy Dee, #WednesdayAIMLinkParty, social media shared.
Pam
April 9, 2017
These are all great things to remember when raising kids. Sometimes, when life gets crazy, it’s so tempting to take the easy way out and tell a little lie to get kids to comply… but they remember. They might not act like they do, but they do- and how are they supposed to trust someone who lies to them? Great post.
LoriGraceH
April 10, 2017
Exactly Pam! I agree 100%!!
Amy
April 18, 2017
This is a great reminder about even treating our kids the way we would want to be treated. I always try to be mindful about my expectations, and try not to put unrealistic expectation on my boys. When you are little big emotions are difficult and we need to help them process their feelings rather than punish the emotional behavior. I’m not perfect at helping them process, but I try my best.
LoriGraceH
April 24, 2017
So true Amy! Your boys are blessed to have you for their mom.
Stephenie - Blended Life Happy Wife
April 19, 2017
I have always had my children’s trust because I do exactly what you have suggested. It is so important to be reliable and accountable. Don’t say it if your not going to do it. My children have always been able to come to me and know they are going to get my honest answer, respect and a listening ear. It has made for incredible relationships with them. This is a great post with wonderful information for parents. Thank you for sharing it in the All For Mamas Link Party Week 5. #allformamas I will share this post on the Facebook Group page, my facebook page and g+
LoriGraceH
April 24, 2017
Stephenie, thank you for your kind words.