Share Your Highs and Lows

Kids do not usually love to talk about everything that happens to them each day. Some kids are happy to discuss all about their days, but a large majority of kids will give you a couple of words about how their day was, and that is it. A couple of words is better than nothing, but hearing how their day was “fine” every day gets frustrating - you want to know what really happened and not just that the day was fine.

One of the best daily exercises that you can practice with your family and kids is to have a daily sharing time about your highs and lows. This should be a place where you are comfortable sharing about your day, and you should make your kids comfortable to share during this period as well. You simply never know when they’re going to tell you something important, and you want them to have a place to do so.

Your sharing time can be whenever is best for you and your family. For many families (including ours), the dinner table is the perfect time to tell about your day. Some families aren’t able to all get together at dinner, so make the time that works for everyone. Be consistent in your time though as it will help your kids to come ready to share at the appropriate time - consistency is key in teaching kids in general. 

Everyone should get a chance to share. Ideally, you share one high and one low from your day - what was great and what wasn’t so great. If you had an eventful day, or simply want to share more, then go ahead as well. Make sure everyone gets a turn though, especially each child in the family. Encouraging your kids to share about their day, and being genuinely interested, will lead to them sharing more in the future.

By allowing each member of the family to share a bit about their day, you encourage everyone to participate. By implementing this strategy every single day, your kids will learn to come ready with something to share. While they are still young, they will likely be excited to get their turn to share about their day. Hopefully they’ll continue to be excited as they grow, but you should be engaged no matter what.

If you can begin this daily sharing while your kids are still young, then do so. However, if your kids are already older you can also do this. It will require that you share more about your own day and be brutally honest about the highs and lows of the day. Not all kids will respond well and want to share about their own days, but the more willing you are to share about your day, the more likely it will be that they will as well.

This sharing time can be one of the best times of the day for everyone. It can be a time of healing, and it can be a time of laughing. You’ll get to learn a lot of interesting things about your child, and they’ll likely learn a little bit about you as their parent. This is a great opportunity to teach your kids about life lessons and how to deal with situations that are not always the most fun to have to deal with.

Start making sharing time a part of your daily routine with your family. Share your highs and lows, and listen as your children share theirs.