Parenting Stack Exchange
Parenting Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [communication]

The process of expressing ideas, thoughts, feelings and values so as to be understood by others

Communication is the process by which people convey their ideas, thoughts, feelings and values so as to be understood by others. Within the scope of Parenting.SE this includes communication between family members of any generation, parents to children, children to parents, parents to in-laws, spouse to spouse, etc. This tag should be used for asking about how to explain something to another family member or for help in understanding what another family member is saying to you1.

1 Because sometimes we all need help understanding toddlers.

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How to comfort my dad after telling him that I don't like to do anything with him?

I live with my dad and my grandmother. I don't live with my mother because several times she was caught doing drugs around my step sister. They split up when I was 6 months old. My dad and I don't really see each other often, even though we live…
Damien Bochkarev
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What do I do about my mom setting her expectations too high?

I recently turned 13, I'm in 8th grade, and my life is going pretty well. I'm getting straight A's in school, along with possibly getting a paper published in a legitimate mathematics journal. I also have a pretty active social life, but not the…
Nico A
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At what age should I tell my daughter that her real mother is dead?

Long story short: my first wife passed away while giving birth to my daughter. Two years later, I've remarried, but I am concerned over when should I tell my daughter the truth about her mother. My daughter is now 3 years old, and she's calling my…
TheByeByeMan
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How to convince a 4-year old child that professional cyclists are not littering during a race?

We were watching a Cycling Tour on TV yesterday and my 4.5-year old son saw that after having drinks or chocolates those cyclists were throwing the empty bottles/wrappers on the roadside. I absolutely know that this is not littering and it's a…
Hanky Panky
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How to talk to a teen daughter about her weight

My daughter is 16 and is gaining weight. My wife and I are on board with what needs to be done - and there's a lot to do. But as to talking to her about her weight, we are at a loss. She's an ultra liberal feminist, so any discussion about her…
anon
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8 answers

How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?

I have a 9 and a 12 year old. They'll (either one) get into a video game and then want to talk about it. Have you ever heard someone talk about, say, minecraft? first i got some oak sticks, but then I decided I wanted cherry, then I used the sticks…
scuba_organic
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My husband, who is my teen daughter's step father feels bad that he can't have a closer relationship with my daughter

Four years ago, I divorced my ex after 26 years of marriage. He was extremely manipulative and abusive. He kept track of every mile I put on our vehicles and had to explain if I was ten minutes longer at the grocery store than he thought I should…
Susan B.
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How do you respond to a toddler who endlessly says "why?"?

My wife and I had joked about expecting endless "why?" questions from our son while we were expecting, and I thought I was prepared for it. In fact, I thought the stereotypical constant flow of "why? why? why?" would be trivial, since I enjoy…
user420
52
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15 answers

How should a stepfather respond to "You are not my Father!"?

So the situation is that I'm not the real father of my son. I call him my son since I love him very much, but he is my girlfriend's son from her previous relationship. I'm afraid though... He does listen to me.. for now. But I'm afraid that when…
Hannibal
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Should I stop my mother in law visiting when she doesn't respect me as the father figure?

Sadly these are her words, not mine. Why is this posted in this QA site? Because I can't see how it is good for the children that she (when my wife is not around) shouts at me in front of them; cuts across me when I'm talking to them; and takes them…
David Boshton
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How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?

We live in a major US city, and while we live far enough away from the areas most affected by the rioting and protesting that is currently ongoing, we are not so far that my children aren't aware - both due to limitations in our actions (such as,…
Joe
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An incident happened at school and child didn't (want to) tell the parent

I'm asking for a friend of mine, who's the parent. Her child is 12 years old. Yesterday, at school, the child's classmate was horribly beaten up by a teacher. And I mean horrible. It ended with the teacher banging the child's head to the wall…
learner101
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How best for a trans/non-binary person to respond to their 6-year-old cousin asking if I'm a girl or a boy?

I have twin 6-year-old cousins (a boy and a girl) who I usually see about once a week or so, when the locally-resident segment of my family get together for dinner on Friday evenings. Yesterday, when the twins and I were playing together while…
Vikki
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How to talk to parents about my mental health

18-year-old teen here with no children, I'm asking this question here on how to better communicate with my parents. My mental health took a massive dip during the Pandemic and I'm still working on it. It got to a point where I had a crippling…
redfrogcrab
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How to answer my 4-year-old asking where she was when I was small and how she got in my tummy?

My 4-year-old daughter knows that she was in my tummy and then the doctor took her out. She saw my childhood photos and asked me where she was at that time. She has also asked me how she got in my tummy. She cannot understand the meaning of "not…
Aquarius_Girl
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