{"id":9066,"date":"2021-09-13T18:02:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T18:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/?post_type=cde-knowledge-base&p=9066"},"modified":"2025-08-27T08:32:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T13:32:39","slug":"how-do-i-prepare-pt-1","status":"publish","type":"cde-knowledge-base","link":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/knowledge-base\/our-community-says-no-mas\/how-do-i-prepare-pt-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I prepare? Pt. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

How do I prepare? Part 1<\/strong><\/h3>

How do you prepare yourself to talk to your child about sensitive subjects? Try to go into the conversations with these principles in mind.<\/span><\/p>

Be patient<\/b><\/h4>

Sometimes it can take a while for children to ask their question or tell a story. This may be because they\u2019re still young or because they find it difficult asking you about a sensitive subject. Try to resist the temptation to tell them to get to the point or hurry things along. By listening patiently, you allow your children to think and prepare their thoughts at their own pace, and you communicate that they\u2019re worthy of your time.<\/span><\/p>

Don\u2019t interrupt your children when they\u2019re telling you a story or asking a question. Wait until they come to a full stop of at least five seconds (you can count in your head!), then ask a follow-up question before giving your opinion. Ask them, for example, \u201cWhat else?\u201d or \u201cWhat makes you say that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Be honest<\/b><\/h4>

For example, if your children ask you how many people are gay and you don\u2019t know the answer, consider responding with something like: \u201cThat\u2019s an interesting question, but I\u2019m not sure. Let\u2019s go look it up.\u201d Don\u2019t be afraid to let your children (of any age) see you don\u2019t have all the answers; this is a better response than dismissing the question or rushing to give inaccurate information because you don\u2019t know the answer on the spot. Letting your children see you don\u2019t have all the answers is also a way to model good communication and healthy relationships \u2014 they learn to be open and honest, and to give themselves and others space to learn.<\/span><\/p>

Listen to your children<\/b><\/h4>

While it\u2019s normal and understandable for conversations to unfold as you\u2019re performing routine tasks such as waiting for the bus, making dinner, or grocery shopping, make sure you also find time to give your children your undivided attention. Dedicating time and energy to listen to them shows you respect them, they are important to you, and the things that matter to them matter to you, too. It also helps you understand what your children really want to know, and what they already understand.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Continue on to <\/span>How do I prepare? Part 2<\/b><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Last updated 2021<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do I prepare? Part 1 How do you prepare yourself to talk to your child about sensitive subjects? Try to go into the conversations with these principles in mind. Be patient Sometimes it can take a while for children to ask their question or tell a story. This may be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17871,"template":"","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]"},"media_category":[146,228,232],"media_tags":[266,300,589],"class_list":["post-9066","cde-knowledge-base","type-cde-knowledge-base","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","media_category-esperanza-united-departments","media_category-toolkits","media_category-our-community-says-no-mas","media_tags-free","media_tags-prevention","media_tags-youth-resources"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cde-knowledge-base\/9066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cde-knowledge-base"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cde-knowledge-base"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cde-knowledge-base\/9066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36730,"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cde-knowledge-base\/9066\/revisions\/36730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"media_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_category?post=9066"},{"taxonomy":"media_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esperanzaunited.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_tags?post=9066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}