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behind
the wheel
engage
The Ride of
Your Life
I
t may be as long as 15 minutes or as short as five. No matter
how long you’re in the car with your child—taking them to
soccer practice, dropping them off at a friend’s house or
running a quick errand for a school project—experts agree: this is
the most valuable time you can spend with your child.
All across America on any given day, parents are toting their
kids from one place to another. And more often than not, that
precious time is wasted. Parents are making mental check lists,
while the kids are 100 miles away, lost in the sounds emanating
from their earbuds.
Robin McClure, author of six parenting books and former
childcare contributor to About.com, offers these tips on how to talk to
your kids—and get them talking, too:
Provide no-pressure conversation opportunities – The
quickest way to get kids to shut down and, as a result, shut you
out is to continuously quiz them about things. A more effective
approach is to sit back and patiently wait for them to open up. Once
they do, be prepared to listen.
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maskmatters.org
SPRING
2011
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{
DID YOU KNOW?
}
Males typically report being bullied more than females.