Activities To Build Trust – 5 Ways To Connect With Kids
Looking for activities to build trust? Here are 5 easy ways to build a more trusting relationship with your kids.
Let’s chat about activities to build trust.
Want to know how to build trust with a child? Excellent! You are in exactly the right place!
Here’s the thing with kids and trust. We assume that it is there from the start but often forget that trust actually needs to be EARNED.
Even if you have a fantastic relationship with your kids right now, this will change and develop as they mature.
That’s why it’s so important to build a trusting relationship with your kids while they’re young and nurture it carefully as they grow.
Because this is the best time to sow those seeds.
Trust is a major building block when it comes to the parent-child relationship.
This is especially true as your children grow and become teenagers.
You want to know that the trust you have in them isn’t misplaced, but you want them to know that they can trust you as well.
It is a two-way street.
Trust is however broken when one person in a relationship doesn’t act in the way the other thinks they should.
I wish I could tell you that it would stay intact forever but that simply isn’t the case.
This could be due to a teenager who sneaks out at night to go to a party.
It could just as easily be a parent who is caught going through their child’s journal or stops coming to a teen’s sporting events for no apparent reason.
In either case, trust is broken because of a difference in expectations.
Now for the truth bomb: Children want to trust their parents.
However, parents still need to earn their children’s trust.
To do this, you must treat your child with respect, follow through on promises, and enforce household rules.
Your child needs to know that you’ll always speak truthfully to them and be reliable.
In the end, trust is a two-way street.
Children and teenagers need to show their parents that they’re trustworthy by following their parents’ rules.
This goes back to acting as expected, which is the basis for trust and respect.
Here are some action steps you can take to build a trusting relationship with your kids:
ACTIVITIES TO BUILD TRUST
TIP # 1 – Stress the fact that you’ll love them, no matter what.
Children and teens need to know that they have your unconditional love.
- Go ahead and tell them, “No matter what you do, I’ll always love you. That will never change. I may not like what you do, and there may be consequences for those actions, but my love for you will never change.”
ACTIVITIES TO BUILD TRUST
TIP # 2 – Keep the lines of communication open.
Ask open-ended questions so you can learn to understand each other’s perspective. And keep asking questions!
- You may want to have a family meeting where you discuss the family’s rules and boundaries as well as the consequences of overstepping them.
ACTIVITIES TO BUILD TRUST
TIP # 3 – Explain the benefits of having your trust.
Give them concrete reasons why being trustworthy is to their advantage. It almost always is!
- For example, your child may ask to spend the night at a friend’s house. If they maintain a trusting relationship with you, you may be more willing to allow that privilege (and other privileges for that matter).
ACTIVITIES TO BUILD TRUST
TIP # 4 – Provide a roadmap for success.
How will your kids know if they’re meeting your expectations if you never tell them what they are?
- Explain to them that skipping homework, talking back, snotty attitudes, and slamming doors will erode your trust. Be super clear about the things that are not acceptable to you.
- However, finishing chores, doing their homework, speaking to you with respect and calling in to ask you about a change in plans will go a long way to building trust.
ACTIVITIES TO BUILD TRUST
TIP # 5 – Give your child positive reinforcement when they do something right.
Show your appreciation for the good things your child or teen does, like completing chores on time or doing more than expected.
- Reward them with an extra half-hour of fun when they’re out because they’ve shown you that they can be trusted.
All in all, trust is super important between a parent and child.
The strategies in this post can help teach you how to build a trusting relationship with your child, but the work is still up to you.
It takes ACTION to build trust and open communication too.
So keep talking to your kids, expect the best from them, and you may find that they do indeed rise above your expectations.
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.