Sterling Terrell

smart ideas from books (mostly)

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You are here: Home / Potpourri / The Parental Beauty Of Clarifying Questions

The Parental Beauty Of Clarifying Questions

The Parental Beauty Of Clarifying Questions

Uh, I think there are many occasions where being empathetically caring/friendly and saying clarifying statements or questions can be of great help.

You might know the answer – or you might not – but making your listener examine questions they may have never considered can go a long way.

This is a reminder to use more of this attitude with our children (with my children): “Oh, wow. Hmmm. I wonder why you feel that way.”

Of course, this works on adults too.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink, as they say…

There’s a lot of help to be had from a simple “Oh . . . mmm . . .” or “I see.” Words like these, coupled with a caring attitude, are invitations to a child to explore her own thoughts and feelings, and possibly come up with her own solutions.

-Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Amazon)

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Filed Under: PotpourriTagged With: #Empathy, #Parenting

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