RULE 93
Tell them what’s going on
Children can be very naïve. Hardly surprising really. Young children especially may not understand or even know what divorce or bankruptcy or death are all about. However, they are uncannily clever at picking up on stray emotions wafting around the place. They know when something’s up, even if they don’t know what it is.
Whether someone is frighteningly ill, or you and your partner are rowing (even under your breath or only when the kids are out), or you’re terribly worried about money or work, the kids will know. Of course they won’t know the details – not unless you tell them – but they’ll get the gist.
Which is why you should tell them. Otherwise they’ll have no choice but to make up their own explanations, ...
Get The Rules of Parenting, 3rd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
