11. Remind them that they can come to you for anything (and mean it).
Even when your kids do something wrong and they know that you won’t be happy, they must also know that they can always come to you. You might not jump for joy, but you also won’t turn your back on them. And here’s the tricky part, if you tell your kids that they can share anything with you, then you must be prepared to hear anything. And when your kid hits the teenage years, the term “anything” takes on a whole new, super scary meaning. You’ve been warned.
12. Let them know you’re not perfect and you have made mistakes, too.
This is not the time to dig out all your skeletons and share your bad calls from college, but let your kids know you’ve also made some poor choices. If they know you aren’t perfect they might be more open to share with you their less stellar behaviors. Plus, they can learn from your mistakes and hopefully avoid making the same ones in their life.
