Are You a Transparent Parent?

"Mommy, are you ok?" asks her daughter. Mom lies, "I fine, honey."

Do you try to mask your feelings from your children? Your spouse? We often hide our feelings because we want to protect our children. Or to protect ourselves by not letting anyone get to close to discover who we really are. One of our deepest needs is to be known. To have "your person" who "gets" you is comforting and keeps us from feeling lonely in the world.

It is hard to experience connection and deep bonds when everyone in the household walks around with masks on.

Our children learn what it means to be transparent from us. Transparency is a life skill and most easily learned from modeling. Children whose parents mask their feelings are often confused because they sense something but are being told something else. They begin to not trust their inner guide.

If we want our children to feel deeply connected and to "trust their gut", we will need to be more transparent...to let our children know how we truly feel and think. It is a risk...are you willing to take it?

Parenting Practice. Practice telling your children and your spouse how you truly feel about things. At first, it may feel awkward or off putting. But stick with it and you will begin to reap the benefits of being fully known and knowing your family fully.