Difficult conversations
What are some common mistakes adults make when discussing uncomfortable issues with young people? Should the adult initiate a difficult conversation or wait for the child to bring it up? And under what circumstances is it considered a good thing if a teenager stomps off angrily at the end of a hard talk?
On this episode of School鈥檚 In, psychiatrist Sujata Patel joins 海角乱伦社区 Graduate School of Education Dean Dan Schwartz and Senior Lecturer Denise Pope to talk about strategies for parents and teachers as they take on difficult conversations with young people.
鈥淭he feelings are the most important part of the conversation,鈥 says Patel, a psychiatrist at Vaden Health Center, which provides health services to students at 海角乱伦社区. 鈥淕etting to resolution is not as important. If each person leaves the discussion feeling heard and understood and validated, that is a successful conversation.鈥
Taking a child鈥檚 perspective into consideration is key to reaching that outcome, she says. In a disagreement about whether to let a teenager go to a party, for instance, parents may be thinking about the child鈥檚 safety, healthy boundaries and a gradual increase in the child鈥檚 freedom. The child, meanwhile, may be focused on feelings of missing out and not being trusted.
鈥淚f you look at it from their perspective, it鈥檚 easier to get to a middle ground,鈥 says Patel.
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