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1 A. Be a fly on the wall B. Share quality family time C. Use everyday opportunities to talk D. Tell stories about yourself growing up E. Provide no-pressure conversation opportunities F. Ask a child what he thinks instead of telling him what you think Seemingly overnight, your kids who previously were never quiet suddenly have nothing to say. To you, anyway. If your child has gone from a continuous chat to conversations that consist mostly of yes and no responses or even worse, it’s time for some prevention. Consider the following parenting tips on how to talk to kids in a way that will keep the lines of communication open so you’ll know what’s going on in your child’s world. How can you talk to kids to keep communication and conversation flowing? 1. The quickest way to get kids to shut down and, as a result, shut you out of their lives is to continuously quiz them about things. A more effective approach is to sit back and patiently wait for them to open up in a low-stress family setting, and then be prepared to listen. If you really want to know what’s on your child’s mind, then avoid passing judgment and focus instead on why something seems important to your child. 2. You want to raise a creative and independent thinker. Right? So stop telling your child what he ought to feel or think. You can gently encourage additional conversation by simply asking why he feels like the way he does or what he would do in a certain situation. But be careful not to overdo it when talking with your child. You may think you’re just asking questions out of curiosity when communicating with your child, but a child who is hit with an endless stream of questions about what he did, who acted like what, did everyone get along, did you go to the bathroom, etc. , is enough to make anyone shut down! Practice patience and let your kids open up on their terms. | 
