Connecting and communicating with your child

What your child wants most in the word is to feel connected to you, their parent.  This connection has a “bank account” which is built up of positive and negative experiences – having more positive experiences in your connection “bank account” is helpful for times when you need set the rules and boundaries which are part of the daily life of the child.  Feeling connected to you and having their emotional experiences validated helps to build up a child’s sense of self.

Raising Children Network has suggestions on how to further build positive connections with your child for each age  range.