Recently I was listening to a podcast where someone suggested that parents should work hard to have random conversations with their kids daily. Their point was that when we help our kids learn that they can talk to us about stuff like their favorite smell, or ask questions such as, "I wonder what a rainbow tastes like?," they'll intuitively learn that they can come to mom and dad to talk about things that are hard and difficult.
I began thinking about my communication with my kids. Was it mostly telling them what they should and shouldn't do? Or telling them to clean their room or pick up after themselves? Or do I regularly have conversations with them about their favorite Pokemon? Or what the world would be like if the air was water and the water was air?
In reality, communication is the bedrock of every relationship. Between us and our kids. And between us as husbands and wives. So I'm going to make an effort to have more random conversations, especially about super random things, with my family.
I've learned over the years in student ministry that you have to ask open ended questions to get conversations going. Questions that can't be answered with a simple yes or no. I found this website with 101 random questions that helps with that. Maybe it'll help you, too!