Hello All,

I wanted to share a small solution with you all that helps me communicate with my 9 year old daughter. I have done this for some time and it has worked well for me.

What we do is have Daddy, Daughter conversations. We have them as often as she would like or as I may need them. In this conversation we first understand that the conversation is one that is between she and myself and will go no further than the moment that we are in.

The next thing is to establish the ground rules of the converstation. We have an understanding that she can say whatever she wants to say and she will not get into trouble. Once we have the ground work set, we begin our conversation. Doing this allows her the freedom the express, knowing that I am listening as well as allowing her to be honest knowing that she will not have to worry about any ramifications or our conversation being shared with anyone...not even her mother. ;-)

Today, we need to have communication with our children in ways that we have not had in the past. We all need to understand that many times, fear is the cause of a lie and the reason for a lack of communication. 

We need to understand as parents that excuses don't change outcomes.

Let's work with our children to remove the need to lie, and reduce the reasons for excuses. Good luck.... Poet