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5 Tips to Build Trust with Your Kids

By Journey Greenwell, Student Intern, and Naomi Brower, Extension Professor

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Most parents hope their children will feel comfortable speaking with them about situations where they need advice. Some topics may be difficult for kids to talk about, whether it be questions about maturing, relationships, boundaries, or anything that may make them feel uncomfortable or uneasy. Building trust with your child is key to ensuring they will be willing to discuss tough topics with you. Consider these tips on how to begin to build or strengthen trust with your child.

  1. Listen closely when they decide to share with you, even if they are just sharing about their day at preschool. Show that you value what they are saying by putting down your phone and other distractions and giving them your full attention. Dinner time could be a great time for this!
  2. When your child confides in you, keep your promises to keep the information between the two of you. Sharing information disclosed in confidence with an outsider may seem harmless to you, but may cause embarrassment for your child. They may avoid sharing private thoughts and feelings with you if they worry you will tell others.
  3. Tell the truth to your child, even if you may feel tempted to downplay a situation. It might be tempting to tell your child a shot at the doctor’s office won’t hurt, but why should he/she trust you after that? If you want to build a relationship of trust with your child, be trustworthy, right from the start.
  4. Open body language is very useful in building trust with anyone, including children. Sitting or kneeling and talking with your child at their eye level makes them feel more comfortable opening up to you.
  5. Start early. Building trust with your child(ren) while they are young creates a connection and will help you both when tougher talks come up later.

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