Today’s edition is brought to you by us! - The newsletter that gives you great resources for free. Spread the news!

Good morning from Florida! I’m just sipping on my hot green tea after returning from a wonderful Christmas with my family. There were a few things to unpack, as you can imagine. We all cherish the holidays as a fantastic time to be with family, but it's also a period that can stir up not-so-positive memories. Sometimes, past traumas or experiences resurface, making it a bit challenging to connect with others.

A lot can happen in a year, and it's hard to hop on a call every week with your siblings, parents, uncles, aunts, 1st and 2nd cousins. Without building these connections weekly, a lot of feelings can go unheard. A simple 'I'm busy' can push away the ones we love.

I believe it's crucial to know how to talk about these feelings with our loved ones, and it's something we can do any time of the year. Growing up, figuring out how to have those tough talks with my parents was a bit of a challenge, but you know what? It's totally doable!

So let's dive into how we can healthily facilitate difficult conversations with our children when these big emotions resurface. But before we continue this conversation, go support the sponsor we love today, here’s a quick ad for them.

Before applying these steps to your life, consider these tips. If you aim for a long-term relationship with your kids, where they check in with you weekly or even daily, remember that incorporating these steps into your life may be challenging, especially at the beginning. However, when you keep in mind how your actions impact the long-term relationship, your focus shifts to consistently modeling these behaviors.

Encouraging your kids to check in with you daily and open up involves exemplifying this behavior throughout your entire life. As you consistently incorporate these steps into your daily routine, your child will likely adopt and reflect these habits not only with you but also with others in their life. Now, let's delve into these four simple tips!

Create a safe haven: When your child brings up a past experience to you, ensure that you do not shut it down. Instead, provide your child with the patience that they need. It is also important to reserve your judgement to enable them to express themselves to the full extent.

Acknowledge your child’s feelings: It is important to verbally acknowledge your child’s feelings to validate them. This enables your child to know that you are a support system for them and that you care about their feelings. No one likes talking to wall.

*Please give a gentle round of applause too…*